Paul Johnson – Let’s Keep Competition The Focus Of Canada’s Competition Act
From: Paul Johnson To: Competition Policy Watchers Date: August 3, 2021 Re: Let’s Keep Competition the Focus of Canada’s Competition Act New voices are challenging competition policy’s status quo by advocating expansion of its goals to protect and promote, not only competition, but public interest goals like equality, free speech, and even democracy. As it considers reforms to its […] S3 E13: Bill C-10 with Andrew Coyne and Jeanette Patell
Bill C-10’s attempts to amend Canada’s Broadcasting Act has it performing a high-wire act of its own. Globe & Mail columnist Andrew Coyne and Youtube’s Jeanette Patell sit down with Michael Hainsworth to discuss criticism around Canadian content requirements, and why they feel the bill’s foundational concern is flawed: that the playing field requires leveling […] Lawson Hunter on BNN – Tech competition laws need to be ‘tweaked’ to allow intervention
Lawson Hunter is counsel at Stikeman Elliott and a member of the Competition Policy Council of the C.D. Howe Institute. He co-authored a recent article looking at what Big Tech means for the economy and the competition issues it presents. As a former BCE executive, he also offers his view on the competitive landscape in Canada’s telecom.
Hunter, Schwanen – Anti-big Tech Bias Could Be Costly For Canadians
From: Lawson Hunter and Daniel Schwanen To: Canadians Concerned about Big Tech Date: June 1, 2021 Re: Anti-Big Tech Bias Could Be Costly for Canadians Earlier this spring, Vass Bednar and Robin Shaban argued in an opinion column that the Competition Bureau is unable to protect consumers from the dominance of Big Tech firms. They advocated turning the Bureau from […] Robert Mysicka – Sharpening A Dull Sword: Amending The Competition Act To Increase Scrutiny Of Self-regulators
From: Robert Mysicka To: Canada’s Competition Watchdogs Date: May 28, 2021 Re: Sharpening a Dull Sword: Amending the Competition Act to Increase Scrutiny of Self-Regulators How do you know if the professional you are working with at an important time in your life – whether it is a lawyer, a realtor, or a doctor, […] Anti-big populism threatens Canadian economic success – Financial Post Op-ed
In a Post op-ed earlier this spring, “Why Canada’s toothless Competition Bureau can’t go after Big Tech,” Vass Bednar and Robin Shaban argued that Canada’s competition authorities are unable to “protect consumers from the dominance of Big Tech firms like Google and Facebook.” They advocated turning the Competition Bureau, a law enforcement agency, into an agency that investigates, and may even impose penalties or remedial action for conduct that has the potential to be anti-competitive. And they proposed giving the Bureau the power to seize data or compel production of business documentation for “market studies” from entities that are not even being formally investigated. As a 2017 report from…
S3 E10: Decarbonizing the Transportation Sector
Meeting Ottawa’s climate plan requires our cars and light trucks to cut GHG by 34 percent over the next decade. What’s it going to take to make the transportation sector do the heavy-lifting on reducing Canada’s carbon footprint? Host Michael Hainsworth learns there’s no “silver bullet,” it’s more like “silver buckshot.” Krane, Musgrove – Competition Act Changes: Proceed With Caution
From: Joshua Krane and James Musgrove To: Innovation Minister François-Phillippe Champagne Date: May 10, 2021 Re: Competition Act Changes: Proceed with Caution Canada enjoys a modern and robust competition law regime suited for an open-market, trading economy. It includes an extensive toolkit of powers for the Competition Bureau to investigate and address anti-competitive conduct, including mergers. Still, some […] Consequences of High Spectrum Costs
The cost of spectrum is a central factor in the higher wireless bills for Canadian customers relative to customers around the world. Auction design and company behaviour in past auctions pushed prices for Canadian wireless spectrum higher. These high upfront fees coupled with provider’s internal financing restraints can result in lower network re-investment and higher […] Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault should start fresh on Bill C-10 – Globe and Mail Op-ed
Controversial government efforts forcing streaming companies to pay into official Canadian culture funds will only gain public acceptance if the legislative club currently being used is replaced with a scalpel.
The main aim of Bill C-10, an Act to Amend the Broadcasting Act, was originally to regulate online streaming companies such as Netflix and to level the playing field between traditional broadcasters and those services. Fair enough, but using the Broadcasting Act and granting the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) sweeping powers over the internet is at best an awkward solution, and at worst an unworkable and damaging one. Both the Act and the CRTC were designed to…
David Vaillancourt – A Private Right Of Action For Abuse Of Dominance
From: David Vaillancourt To: House of Commons Industry Committee Date: April 26, 2021 Re: A Private Right of Action for Abuse of Dominance The abuse of dominance provisions of the Competition Act have historically been under-enforced. Harmful conduct by monopolists has gone unchecked for too long. The Canadian abuse of dominance regime is not working […] High Spectrum Costs, Regulatory Impediments Slow 5G Rollout: Telecommunications Policy Working Group
April 21, 2021 – High spectrum costs and regulatory impediments impact the rollout of 5G and undermines Canada’s technological competitiveness, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.
At their recent meetings, the Telecommunications Policy Working Group discussed spectrum policy and the consequences of high spectrum costs.
The Working Group agrees Ottawa’s primary goal should be to allocate spectrum most efficiently and ensure competitive access to spectrum. Improved spectrum allocation policy will enable the critically needed 5G infrastructure of the future.
Ottawa’s policy of auctioning off radiofrequency spectrum for telecommunications purposes is designed to minimize interference and ensure its…