Government Enacts Significant Changes To Canada’s Merger Review Laws

Significant changes to the Competition Act's merger review process and the Investment Canada Act (ICA) came into effect on March 12, 2009, when the Budget Implementation Act 2009 (Bill C-10) received Royal Assent.

Changes to the Merger Provisions under the Competition Act

• Increased thresholds for pre-notification ― The existing $400-million "size of the parties" threshold has been maintained, but the "size of the transaction" threshold increased from $50 million to $70 million (with further increases annually).
• Different statutory waiting periods and production powers ― Previously, the statutory waiting period for mergers subject to notification was 14 days, with complex transactions subject to a maximum 42-day waiting period. Now, the period for most uncomplicated transactions has increased to 30 days. In complicated transactions, the Competition Bureau can extend the waiting period by an additional 30 days beyond the time required for the parties to