This article is part of a Chronicle. See more from this Chronicle
Mark Katz, Charles Tingley, Jan 29, 2015
Specifically, we see developments in these areas unfolding in a regulatory environment in which administration and enforcement is increasingly:
- Consumer-facing: The Competition Bureau’s focus on enforcement in consumer-facing industries will continue into 2015, with policy emphases and recent or open dossiers related to health and pharmaceuticals, premium texting, grocery retailing, digital taxi dispatch services, iPhones, and deceptive marketing practices in the digital environment, among others.
- Influenced by electoral politics: As Canadians prepare to head to the polls later this year, federal politicians are calibrating policies and legislative agendas accordingly, including recently proposed amendments to the Act that will fall to the Competition Bureau to enforce in 2015 and beyond. Foreign investment reviews under the ICA will, in particular, be influenced by the election cycle, tending to heighten political sensitivities and reduce predictability in the review process.
- International in scope and consequence: Cooperation between competition agencies in different countries continues to reach new heights, requiring vigilance on the part of investigated parties regarding the treatment of their confidential information and extraterritorial access by competition enforcers to evidence out of jurisdiction.
Links to Full Content
Key Competition and Foreign Investment Review Trends for Canada in 2015
