Competition Act Update - May 03, 2018

Broader Affiliation Rules Now in Force

Amendments to the Competition Act that expand the affiliation rules came into force on May 1, 2018.  Whereas rules for control and affiliation had historically treated corporations and non-corporate business organizations differently, the new amendments essentially extend the same control and affiliation rules to all "entities", including corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, trusts or other unincorporated organizations.   These changes will have a ripple effect across various aspects of business activities impacted by the Competition Act, in particular with respect to mergers and cartel enforcement. 

Mergers

Under the new affiliation rules, all corporate and non-corporate entities under common direct or indirect control will be treated as "affiliates". The new affiliation rules may result in a greater number of transactions being subject to pre-merger notification because a key threshold test as to whether