July 1, 2010
On June 29, 2010 the Competition Bureau announced that it had reached and agreement with IESI-BFC Ltd. (BFI) and Waste Services Inc. (WSI) in relation to their proposed merger agreement. Under the Consent Agreement concluded in this case, the merging parties will divest commercial waste collection assets that include vehicles, customer contracts, bins and other equipment in several Canadian cities including Edmonton, Calgary, Hamilton, Ottawa, as well as Simcoe County.
June 29, 2010
The Competition Bureau announced today that Zellers had agreed to take action to correct an allegedly misleading promotion. According to the Bureau, Zellers Inc., owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company, has agreed to take steps to address the Bureau’s view that a Zeller’s misleading savings card promotion violated the Competition Act.
June 26, 2010
“A [compliance] program also plays a crucial role for trade associations because trade associations face unique compliance issues. Given that an association provides a forum where competitors collaborate on association activities, trade associations are exposed to greater risks of anti-competitive conduct. A number of past Bureau cases have involved trade associations that were engaged in agreements to harm competition. It is therefore critical that trade associations implement credible and effective programs with strict codes of ethics and conduct. Such programs may allow trade associations and its members to avoid improper actions and to protect themselves from being used as a conduit for illegal activities. They may also allow trade association members to fully benefit from the association’s activities while reducing the potential for inadvertent contraventions of the Acts.” (Competition Bureau, Corporate Compliance Programs Information Bulletin)
June 21, 2010
RECENT MISLEADING ADVERTISING NEWS
Competition Bureau Confirms Enforcement Approach to New Guidelines on “Made in Canada” and “Product of Canada” Claims
Enforcement Guidelines for “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada” Claims
June 18, 2010
We are delighted to announce the forthcoming new book that we are co-authoring on competition law and associations (trade and professional associations): The Competition Law Guide for Associations.
June 16, 2010
We are delighted to announce that Steve Szentesi and Tom Hakemi will be co-teaching a new Canadian competition law course for the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law, to be launched Spring, 2011.
June 15, 2010
On June 14, 2010, the Honourable Madam Justice Hansen of the Federal Court of Canada (“FCA”) dismissed U.S. Steel Corporation’s and U.S. Steel Canada Inc.’s (“U.S. Steel”) motion challenging the constitutional validity of section 40 of the Investment Canada Act (“ICA”).
June 15, 2010
RECENT CANADIAN MERGER CONTROL NEWS
Competition Bureau Issues New Policy on Hostile Transactions
On June 2, 2010 the Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”) published its new Policy on Hostile Transactions (the “Hostile Bid Policy”). According to the Bureau, the Hostile Bid Policy “describes the Bureau’s general approach to communicating information to a bidder and target during the course [of a merger review by the Bureau].” The Bureau’s new Hostile Hostile Bid Policy is the most recent in a series of new or updated merger-related guidelines and reports that the Bureau has recently issued following the recent adoption in Canada of a new two-track, U.S.-style merger control regime. Other recently issued merger-related guidelines and reports that the Bureau has issued in the past week include its new Merger Review Performance Report (analyzing notified transactions since its last Merger Review Performance Report in 2007) and its Draft Fee and Service Standards Handbook for Merger-Related Matters, which has been issued for public comment. For more see: Competition Bureau Publishes New Policy on Hostile Transactions.
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
