Major Changes Made To Canada´s Competition And Foreign Investment Laws

On March 12, 2009, major changes to Canada's Competition Act and Investment Canada Act came into effect upon passage of the most recent federal budget. Using the budget implementing legislation introduced in February, Canada's ruling Conservative Party amended the Competition Act to create a new US-style merger review process, as well as a number of per se offences. The revised Investment Canada Act will create a new national security review process and remove existing constraints on transportation and other sectors. Although foreign investors will welcome changes to the Investment Canada Act, Canadian businesses will face increased compliance costs with the amended Competition Act, which may hurt Canada's competitiveness.