CIGI Papers No. 268 — September 2022 - Merger Policy for a Dynamic and Digital Canadian Economy

While the increased attention on the effectiveness of competition law in digital markets → updates the pre-merger notification threshold is relevant to each of these areas, this paper to consider the actual value of an intangible focuses on the implications for the elements of asset, such as data in a transaction; the law designed to prevent harmful M&A. [...] In a decentralized and concerted to Senator Wetston’s 2021 consultation on the push, several countries have engaged in an adequacy of the Competition Act in digital markets, assessment of the fitness of their competition the Bureau highlighted multiple barriers the laws in response to the perceived competitive organization encounters to protecting Canadians challenges in digital markets. [...] In assessing the impact of the current of competition is focused on the ability of the prevent standard on its ability to intervene in the merging firm to maintain its current level of market acquisition of a potential competitor, the Bureau power by foreclosing future entry.30 In Tervita, the suggests it would be “difficult — if not impossible,” Supreme Court laid out the test for a successful pa. [...] Although likelihood of harm, the Tribunal rejected the request more frequently discussed as the inability of because the Bureau did not provide an initial the Bureau to conduct non-enforcement studies estimate of those harms prior to the closing of the of markets in Canada, this also means that the 30-day time period provided by law, an extremely Bureau does not have the power to assess the narrow. [...] the incentive for firms to game the system with otherwise anticompetitive transactions, and reduce Canada should reform the test for finding a the need for the Bureau to engage in speculation substantial prevention of competition and focus the regarding the future of these markets (OECD 2020).