Year in Review 2022: Competition Act Reform Gains Pace

Abstract

In 2022, the federal government announced a much-anticipated process to study reform of the Competition Act, expediting the passage of an initial set of amendments in June and initiating public consultations on further amendments in November. Amidst ongoing debate over the future of Canada's mergers framework, the Competition Tribunal heard two Commissioner challenges and issued two major decisions-including in the closely watched Rogers/Shaw litigation-while an earlier Federal Court of Appeal ruling in the Secure/Tervita case provided the Commissioner his only litigation victory of the year. As Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell made the case for competition law's role both in driving economic growth and reducing inflationary pressures, the Bureau's activities touched on high-profile, consumer-facing topics such as "greenwashing" and retail grocery competition and key sectors including energy, agriculture, aerospace, tech and health care.