Canada's Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic
Development (“ISED”),
Francois-Philippe Champagne, made two important announcements on
Monday morning in an exclusive interview with
Toronto Star business reporter, Christine Dobby, and in a
subsequent
press release: (1) the Government of Canada (the
“Government”) will engage in a broad
review of the Competition Act (the
“Act”) with a view to promoting
dynamic and fair markets, and (2) the $93 million transaction-size
threshold for pre-merger notification will not be increased this
year – an unusual development following a year of GDP
growth.
Competition Law Review
Minister Champagne announced that the Government will engage in
a review of Canada's competition laws with a view to
promoting dynamic and fair markets. It is expected that the review
will lead to a variety of amendments, as discussed in more detail
below. Minister Champagne has signalled that the review may take
place in two stages. The first