Federal Court Sets Aside Competition Bureau Subpoenas

In a pair of unprecedented rulings issued on January 28, 2008, Justice Anne Mactavish of the Federal Court of Canada quashed certain production orders she had previously issued against Labatt Brewing Company Limited and others in the context of the Commissioner of Competition's inquiry into the Labatt/Lakeport merger, on the basis that the disclosure made to the Court by the Commissioner in seeking the orders by way of ex parte application had been "misleading, incomplete and incorrect".

This is the first time a "section 11" order has been struck down in a merger case. The decisions are significant because the judge severely criticized the Competition Bureau's behaviour in this inquiry and ruled that any further orders in the matter must be brought "on notice" to the parties.