Canadian Competition in the Digital Era - a webinar organised by Access Partnership and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce

OTTAWA, Canada, Nov. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tech policy firm Access Partnership and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a joint webinar on 29 November 2022 at 10:00 ET | 15:00 GMT. To join the webinar simply follow the link: https://tinyurl.com/5n6pz99h

The Government of Canada launched a 100-day public consultation for the review of its competition law and enforcement framework.  To frame the consultation, the Government published a discussion paper proposing several changes to its framework. The consultation follows the call for a comprehensive review of the Competition Act by Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell, and the approval of several amendments to the Act through the 2022 Budget Implementation Act. 

Canada's interest to revisit principles of competition policy mirrors a global trend, as numerous other jurisdictions have examined various aspects of their competition frameworks in recent years, usually with a particular focus and target on "Big Tech" companies. In Europe, the Digital Market Act (DMA) introduces ex-ante regulation and imposes substantial restrictions and obligations on large online companies – labelled as "gatekeepers" – to abide by. It is now time for Canadians to decide what to do.

"The event brings together stakeholders from different backgrounds, such as governmental officials, former competition commissioners, academics, lawyers and economists to debate the proposed changes and discuss the impact they are likely to have on competition, innovation, and consumer welfare in Canada", explained Mr. Michael Harvey, Vice President, Policy & International, at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. "This is an extremely important issue for Canada, and we need to, as a society, think and answer fundamental questions such as 'What are the biggest competition-related challenges Canada currently faces, and will the proposals in the consultation paper address them?'. We encourage everyone to join and contribute to the discussion during our Q&A session."