Gavin Murphy is a qualified barrister and solicitor and is a deputy editor of the Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law. He was most recently part-time legal editor of the Commonwealth Law Bulletin in London and is the former counsel to the International Joint Commission in Ottawa, Canada. He was previously full-time legal editor of the Commonwealth Law Bulletin and served as counsel with the Criminal Law Policy Section and International Development Group of the Department of Justice of Canada. He also worked at Canada’s Competition Bureau and the United Kingdom’s Office of Fair Trading. A graduate of Ottawa’s Carleton University and the University of Ottawa Law School, Gavin holds a Master of Laws (Distinction) in International and European Legal Studies from Durham University, England. Author of three books on the law, he has published numerous scholarly articles in law journals in Canada, England and Ukraine. Gavin has taught courses at law schools in Ottawa and Thunder Bay, Canada and is a frequent guest lecturer in Canada and Europe.
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The Competition Bureau (Bureau), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (Commissioner) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (Act), announced on 19 September 2023 that criminal charges were laid against two executives in connection with paving contracts awarded by (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Commissioner of Competition (‘Commissioner’) was left licking wounds on 28 August 2023 after the Competition Tribunal (‘Tribunal’) levied nearly CAN $13 million in costs for unsuccessful litigation in the Rogers Communications Inc (‘Rogers’) and Shaw Communications Inc (...)
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Overview One of the most significant acquisitions in Canadian pulp and paper history is now complete. On 2 August 2023, the Competition Bureau (‘Bureau’), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (‘Commissioner’) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (‘Act’), (...)
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Introduction A fine of $50 million represents a lot of bread. That’s the amount levied by the Ontario Superior Court under Canada’s Competition Act (‘the Act’) after Canada Bread Limited (‘Canada Bread’) pleaded guilty in an agreed statement of facts to four counts of criminal price-fixing (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (the ‘Bureau’), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (the ‘Commissioner’) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (the ‘Act’), issued a request for information (‘RFI’) on 1 May 2023. This request aims to aid its (...)
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Introduction The CPR locomotive (‘CP’) has finally arrived at the train station. The destination of this railway is no longer unknown after the US Surface Transportation Board (‘STB’ or ‘board’) approved its merger proposal on 15 March 2023 with Kansas City Southern railway (‘KCS’). This (...)
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Introduction Tuesday 24 January 2023 was not a good day for Canada’s Competition Commissioner (‘the Commissioner’) and the Competition Bureau (‘the Bureau’), which assists the Commissioner in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (‘the Act’). This day marked the Federal (...)
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Overview Canada’s Competition Bureau (‘Bureau’) assists the Commissioner of Competition (‘Commissioner’) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (‘Act’). On 29 December 2022 it announced that an agreement was reached with the Commissioner and Domtar Corporation (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (the Bureau), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (the Commissioner) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (the Act), announced on 25 October 2022 the release of its Information Bulletin on Transparency (the Bulletin). (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (Bureau), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (Commissioner) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (Act), announced on 30 August 2022 that the Commissioner had reached an agreement with Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (Bureau), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (Commissioner) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (Act), announced on 24 June 2022 that amendments to the Act came into force on 23 June to help strengthen the law and (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau, which assists the Commissioner of Competition (‘the Commissioner’) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (‘the Act’), released its draft Information Bulletin on Transparency (‘the draft Bulletin’) on 8 March 2022, requesting (...)
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Canada’s Competition Bureau (Bureau), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (Commissioner) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (Act) , announced on 17 January 2022 that CPL Interiors Ltd. (CPL) was fined $761,967 (CAN) after pleading guilty for its role in a (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (‘Bureau’), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (‘Commissioner’) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (‘Act’), announced on 29 October 2021 that the Commissioner had entered into a Consent Agreement (‘Agreement’) with (...)
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Introduction It is full steam ahead with likely no further detours for Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (‘CP’) and Kansas City Southern Railway Co. (‘KCS’). The US Surface Transportation Board (‘STB’ or ‘the Board’) confirmed on 30 September 2021 that its prior approval of a voting trust as a (...)
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Introduction The US Surface Transportation Board (‘STB’ or ‘Board’) dealt a fatal blow to the proposed union of Montreal-based Canadian National Railway Co. (‘CN’) and Kansas City Southern railway (‘KCS’) (collectively the ‘applicants’) after a ruling on 31 August 2021 that it would not (...)
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Introduction Courting of the Kansas City Southern railway (‘KCS’) continues full steam ahead and there is now a new suitor on the scene. KCS terminated an earlier corporate-friendly merger agreement with Calgary-based Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (‘CP’) on 21 May 2021 to forge a merger (...)
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If the proposed corporate-friendly merger announced on 21 March 2021 between Calgary-based Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (‘CP’) and Kansas City Southern Railway Company (‘KCS’) proceeds, it will be examined under a 2001 waiver granted by the United States Surface Transportation Board (‘STB’)[[ (...)
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INTRODUCTION Canada’s Competition Bureau (‘Bureau’), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (‘Commissioner’) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (‘Act’), announced on 24 February 2021 that the Commissioner had clipped the wings of Montreal-based FlightHub (...)
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In what could be an extraordinary (if not unique?) move, Canada’s Competition Bureau (‘Bureau’) has announced that the pre-merger notification transaction size threshold for acquiring an undertaking in 2021 will decrease by $3 million from the 2020 level of $96 million to $93 million. The (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (‘the Bureau’), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (‘the Commissioner’) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (‘the Act’), announced on 7 January 2021 that the Commissioner closed the investigation into Postmedia (...)
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It was a classic case of a price fixing cartel brought to the competition authority’s attention by a potential victim. The Lithuanian competition authority, Konkurencijos taryba, or Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania (‘Competition Council’), announced on 25 November 2020 that (...)
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Introduction The 21st century has brought about new challenges for competition agencies. Globalisation, falling trade barriers, deregulation and digitalisation are just some of the difficult issues agencies must now consider to ensure and protect free and open competition. To this end, (...)
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Canada’s Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (the “Commissioner”) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (the “Act”), announced on 1 April 2020 that the 2020 pre-merger notification transaction size threshold for acquiring an (...)
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Virtually everyone on earth has been swept up in the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and competition authorities are no different. The Canadian Competition Bureau (the Bureau), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (Commissioner) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (...)
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Introduction There are no rock bottom bargains on offer at StubHub Canada Ltd as Canadian consumers found out the hard way, falling victim to a possible case of drip pricing. StubHub Canada Ltd is a subsidiary of StubHub Inc, an American exchange and resale ticket company that offers (...)
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The old adage appears to ring true yet again: If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Canada’s Competition Bureau (Bureau), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (Commissioner) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (Act), announced on 28 October 2019 (...)
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Canada’s Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”), which assists the Commissioner of Competition in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (the “Act”), announced on 31 January 2019 that the 2019 pre-merger notification threshold for acquiring an undertaking will be $96 million (...)
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A hotel is a hotel and the Karolina Park Hotel in Vilnius, Lithuania is no exception. So the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court (Court) upheld a decision of the Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania (Council) that fined the developer Karolinos turas and real estate company NT (...)
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Introduction On 19 December 2017, Loblaw Companies Limited (‘Loblaw’), Canada’s largest grocery store chain, and George Weston Ltd (‘Weston’), which owns national bread baker Weston Bakeries, admitted to participation in a packaged bread price-fixing scheme for more than 14 years that ran (...)
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Introduction Canada expanded its international competition law cooperation framework on 2 December 2016 when the commissioner of competition (commissioner), who has statutory authority to administer and enforce Canada’s Competition Act (Act), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with (...)
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Introduction Following a request for public comment in May 2015, the Competition Bureau, which assists the Commissioner of Competition (“Commissioner”) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (“Act”), published the final version of its Competition and Compliance (...)
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Introduction Today’s global economy makes international cooperation in the enforcement of competition laws essential. To this end on 1 December 2014 Canada’s Commissioner of Competition (“Commissioner”) and the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (...)
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Introduction The Canadian Competition Bureau (“Bureau”), which assists the Commissioner of Competition (“Commissioner”) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (“Act”) , announced on 21 March 2014 that the Commissioner has reached a consent agreement with Loblaw Companies (...)
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Introduction The Supreme Court of Canada (“court”) ruled on 7 November 2013 in R v Vu that specific warrant authorisation is needed to execute searches of computers and mobile phones. While the decision concerned alleged offences related to the production and possession of marijuana, it most (...)
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Introduction The Supreme Court of Canada (“court”) ruled on November 7, 2013 in R v Vu (“Vu”) that specific warrant authorisation is needed to execute searches of computers and mobile phones. While the judgment concerned alleged offences in relation to the production and possession of (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”), an independent law enforcement agency that assists the commissioner of competition in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act, released its Action Plan on Transparency (the “Plan”) on 28 May 2013. According to the (...)
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Introduction On 23 October 2012 Canada’s Competition Bureau (the Bureau), an independent law enforcement agency that assists the Commissioner of Competition (the Commissioner) in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act, reached a consent agreement with Air Canada and United (...)
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Introduction On 6 September 2012 the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) upheld an earlier decision of the General Court (formerly the Court of First Instance) in the Prezes Urzedu Komunikacji Elektronicznej case that in-house lawyers cannot represent their client companies before (...)
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Melanie Aitken, Canada’s Commissioner of Competition, (“Commissioner”) announced on 28 June 2012 that she will resign on 21 September 2012. She has been Commissioner since 2009, and was scheduled to serve until 2014. In a statement released by the Competition Bureau (“Bureau”), which assists (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (the "Bureau"), an independent law enforcement agency that assists the Commissioner of Competition (the "Commissioner") in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (the "Act"), wants to ground Air Canada. The Bureau announced on 27 (...)
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Gavin Murphy, barrister and solicitor, Ottawa, Canada. The author serves on the editorial advisory boards of the Commonwealth Law Bulletin and the Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law. Shane Zurbrigg is a second year law student at the University of Ottawa. The views expressed in this (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (the "Bureau"), an independent law enforcement agency that assists the Commissioner of Competition (the "Commissioner") in the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (the "Act"), and the Canadian real estate industry are at odds again. (...)
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Introduction The Canadian Competition Bureau (the «Bureau»), an independent law enforcement agency that assists the Commissioner of Competition (the «Commissioner») in ensuring a competitive and innovative marketplace through administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (the «Act»), (...)
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I. Introduction The long arm of Canadian competition law caught up with Matthew Hovila on 15 January 2011 when he was arrested for the operation of an alleged online job opportunities scam and breach of a consent agreement filed with the Competition Tribunal (the "Tribunal") pursuant to the (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau, an independent law enforcement agency that assists the Commissioner of Competition (the “Commissioner”) in protecting and promoting competition, announced on 8 February 2010 that a notice of application would be filed on behalf of the Commissioner (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”), an independent enforcement agency that assists the Commissioner of Competition (the “Commissioner”) in protecting and promoting competition, released its Enforcement Guidelineson“product of Canada” and “made in Canada” Claims(the (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (“Bureau”), an independent enforcement agency that assists the Commissioner of Competition (“Commissioner”) in protecting and promoting competition, announced on 23 November 2009 that Elkhorn Ranch & Resort Ltd (“Elkhorn”), a Manitoba-based (...)
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Introduction Canada’s Competition Bureau (“Bureau”), an independent enforcement agency that protects and promotes competition, reached agreement with Clean Harbors, Inc. (“Clean Harbors”) on 27 July 2009 on its proposed acquisition of Eveready, Inc. (“Eveready”) by requiring the company to (...)
