As reported in our year-end review (Competition and Foreign
Investment Review in Canada: Taking Stock of 2011 and Looking Ahead
to 2012, available
here), the Commissioner of Competition challenged the completed
merger of two landfill companies in northern British Columbia, CCS
Corporation and Complete Environmental – the first
contested merger case since 2005. On May 29, the Competition Bureau
announced its challenge was successful – a significant
case because not only was it a non-notifiable transaction but the
Bureau had to argue that the merger would lead to a substantial
prevention of competition as the target, Complete
Environmental, had not yet commenced its operations.
The Competition Tribunal ordered divestiture of Complete
Environmental's Babkirk hazardous waste landfill site. Vendors
in M&A transactions may be relieved to learn that the Tribunal
did not follow the Commissioner's preferred alternative
– to dissolve the merger, a result that can be
