Archive for the 'Publications' Category
June 3, 2013
Well, after months of consultation and debate, and a seemingly ever rising swell of commentary and consumer gnashing of teeth about the poor quality of Canadian wireless services (and anticipated demise of Canada’s new wireless entrants), the CRTC today announced at long last its wireless code of conduct.
May 28, 2013
Somewhat coincidentally, having just written a short note yesterday on SNC-Lavalin’s announced internal amnesty program and whistleblower protections under the Competition Act, the Interim Commissioner of Competition announced a new Competition Bureau “Criminal Cartel Whistleblowing Initiative” today as part of remarks given at the CBA’s annual Spring competition law conference.
May 24, 2013
The C.D. Howe Institute has published a new report on a topic that is near and dear to my heart – the regulated conduct doctrine and monopolies, er regulated markets, in Canada: Beer, Butter and Barristers: How Canadian Governments Put Cartels Before Consumers.
April 30, 2013
As previously announced, the Ontario Government has now introduced for first reading new proposed legislation for wireless contracts and services in Ontario (Bill 60 – An Act to strengthen consumer protection with respect to consumer agreements relating to wireless services accessed from a cellular phone, smart phone or any other similar mobile device).
April 30, 2013
A large part of my practice relates to competition/antitrust and advertising law compliance for companies and associations. In this regard, while the Canadian Competition Bureau has a Corporate Compliance Programs Bulletin that includes an outline of its recommended basic elements for effective competition compliance programs for companies and trade associations, this new International Chamber (ICC) “Antitrust Compliance Toolkit” caught my eye, given that compliance programs can, and typically are, customized for particular business and risk issues.
April 23, 2013
There has been quite a bit of debate recently in Canada about the pros and cons of regulation. Some of the highlights of this debate have included announcements by the Competition Bureau that it is stepping up its advocacy efforts in certain regulated sectors (e.g., health, wireless, etc.) (see: here), calls by some policy groups (e.g., the CD Howe Institute) to more closely scrutinize anti-competitive restraints insulated by the “regulated conduct doctrine” (see: here) and a vigorous ongoing debate in the wireless sector about the level of appropriate regulation and extent to which Canada’s large three incumbent carriers should be insulated from foreign competition.
April 8, 2013
Steve Szentesi &
Mark Katz (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP)
(Upcoming note for Associations+)
Just as with any other board of directors, directors of trade and profession associations generally owe duties of loyalty, care and skill to their organizations. While the applicable standards may vary to some extent or be expressed differently between provinces, association directors are generally required to act honestly and in the best interests of the association and to exercise diligence and skill in the course of fulfilling their duties. Based on this duty of care, directors have an obligation to take steps not only to advance the interests and objectives of their association, but also to protect their association against risk, including the risks entailed by non-compliance with the law.
March 21, 2013
Earlier today the C.D. Howe Institute published a new “shadow budget” entitled “Prudence and Opportunity: A Shadow Federal Budget for 2013” to coincide with the release of the new Federal budget.
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
