Expedited hearings are now available for contested mergers and
other competition law cases, due to new procedures adopted by
Canada's Competition Tribunal.
The Tribunal has released two new Practice Directions, one about
expedited procedures towards an early hearing and another applying
to all Tribunal proceedings. The new procedures call for
streamlined discovery and more active case management by the
Tribunal.
Expedited Hearing Process
The advent of an expedited hearing process is itself a
significant development for competition law cases in Canada. While
mostly driven by a desire to have speedier adjudication available
for some merger matters, the expedited process is also available
for reviewable practices under the Competition Act (such
as abuse of dominance), and for alleged violations of the deceptive
marketing provisions of the Act, such as misleading advertising and
pricing.
