Council Reports
March 19, 2020 – The C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council addressed the issue of mandating access to telecommunications facilities, at a recent meeting. The Council considered whether mandated access to broadband and wireless facilities would enhance or impede market efficiency.
This issue is timely as the federal government targets a 25 percent reduction in cellular prices and has directed for possible expansion of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) in the market through mandated access to facilities-based providers’ networks.
Council members agreed that competition in telecommunications services involves fast-paced technological change, long lead-time investment in facilities, multiple and…
November 7, 2019 – The C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council addressed potential competition concerns arising from minority “common ownership” positions across competing companies, at a recent meeting. These involve mergers where a shareholder holds a minority ownership in multiple competitors operating in the same product and geographic markets.
With the growth of institutional investors’ role in equity markets, competition authorities are increasingly attuned to the potential competition concerns from common ownership.
A concern is that common ownership could affect product market outcomes by reducing the incentive of a firm to compete as it seeks to maximize returns for investors who also invest in its…
May 16, 2019 – At their recent meeting, members of the C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council concluded Canada’s competition policy toolkit is sufficient to address new forms of market power that may arise in the digital economy.
Governments worldwide are wrestling with public concerns about the perceived power and influence of “Big Tech” companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon. Such players provide digital platforms for searching, shopping and social media and collect extensive datasets about users’ online activities. In the face of populist appeals for a revamp of antitrust rules and pressure to directly regulate digital platforms, the consensus of the Council was that Canada’s competition law…
