Last month, Canada's newly appointed Commissioner of
Competition, Matthew Boswell, promised to prioritize more
aggressive competition law in Canada. In his first speech since he was appointed to the
position for a five-year term, as well as in subsequent interviews and public pronouncements, the Commissioner
asserted that the Competition Bureau should be making greater use
of its existing enforcement tools, advocated for higher penalties
(particularly for "multinational tech firms") and
suggested that significant legislative changes to the
Competition Act may be necessary.
The Commissioner's promise of more vigorous enforcement
comes at a time of increasing discussion about the role of
antitrust enforcement in the digital economy, particularly as it
relates to "big tech." In Canada, for example, the
Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED)
recently released a Digital Charter, which included a letter from the Minister to
Commissioner Boswell with
