July 17, 2019
Practical Law Canada has published a New Legal Update, which discusses the recent decision by the Canadian Government to approve, subject to conditions pursuant to the Canada Transportation Act, the merger of First Air and Canadian North airlines in northern Canada. This approval is notable in that it comes after a Competition Bureau report that concluded that the merger would be anticompetitive. As such, this case highlights the two-track merger review regime in Canada for certain transportation sector mergers and serves as an important reminder that the federal Cabinet, not the Competition Bureau, has the ultimate authority regarding whether to approve such mergers.
Below is an excerpt with a link to the full Update.
____________________
On June 19, 2019, the Government of Canada issued a news release announcing its approval, subject to terms and conditions pursuant to the Canada Transportation Act, S.C. 1996, c. 10 (CTA), of the merger of First Air and Canadian North airlines in northern Canada. The decision is notable in that it follows a review and report (Report) by Competition Bureau (Bureau), which concluded that the merger would be anticompetitive. As such, this case highlights the unique two-track merger review regime in Canada that may apply to certain transactions involving transportation undertakings. While the views of the Bureau are important, it is the federal Cabinet that has the final authority over whether to approve a transportation merger subject to CTA merger review. This legal update discusses how the CTA merger review process was applied to the First Air-Canadian North merger and considers the implications of the CTA process going forward.
(…)
For the full Update, see: Canadian Government Approves Airline Merger in Northern Canada, Despite Competition Bureau Concerns).
********************
SERVICES AND CONTACT
We are a Toronto based competition and advertising law firm offering business and individual clients efficient and strategic advice in relation to competition/antitrust, advertising, Internet and new media law and contest law. We also offer competition and regulatory law compliance, education and policy services to companies, trade and professional associations and government agencies.
Our experience includes advising clients in Toronto, across Canada and the United States on the application of Canadian competition and regulatory laws and we have worked on hundreds of domestic and cross-border competition, advertising and marketing, promotional contest (sweepstakes), conspiracy (cartel), abuse of dominance, compliance, refusal to deal and pricing and distribution matters. For more information about our competition and advertising law services see: competition law services.
To contact us about a potential legal matter, see: contact
For more information about our firm, visit our website: Competitionlawyer.ca
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
