The Competition Bureau
the 2021
transaction-size pre-merger notification threshold under the
Competition Act is decreasing to C$93 million, effective February
13, 2021. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada also
announced new, lower foreign investment review thresholds under the
Investment Canada Act, effective January 1, 2021.
These thresholds are adjusted annually based on GDP formulas. As
a consequence, they generally increase each year. This year s
decrease in merger review thresholds is a consequence of
Canada s economic contraction following from extensive
restrictions on economic activity imposed by governments which were
intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. If the economy recovers,
it is likely these thresholds will increase in 2022.
The Office for the Protection of Competition recently issued two
press releases
1 in which it confirmed one fine and
imposed another on non-cooperative competitors, the first for an
obstruction during a dawn raid and the second for not replying to a
request for information.
Obstruction during dawn raid
The chair of the office dismissed an appeal by EGEM sro against
a Kc2.36 million (€90,075) fine for obstructing a raid. The
fine was imposed in September 2019, following an on-site
investigation at the company s premises, during which EGEM
promised to ask its managing director to be present in person
together with his work electronic devices, which were supposed to
To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. There has been a debate about building into statutes,
criminal liability for acts that are civil in nature. Hence, for
Companies Act, certain amendments are proposed to be made that will
correct this.
1
The views expressed in this excerpt from India s 2020-2021
Union Budget Speech have been incorporated in the Ministry of
Corporate Affairs (
MCA ) 2020
amendment to the Companies Act, 2013. The MCA has facilitated the
ease of doing business in India by introducing significant
compliance and other relaxations to companies, as well as to their
To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com.
The Government of Canada has announced updates to the
transaction size thresholds for review under
the
Competition Act and
Investment
Canada Act. The updated thresholds decreased slightly under
both acts from the 2020 thresholds, which may result in more
transactions that will be subject to review than there were last
year.
Competition Act
Transactions that exceed both the (i) transaction-size
threshold, and (ii), the party-size threshold, require pre-closing
merger notification to the Competition Bureau before they can
close.
Transaction Size Threshold: The transaction size
threshold has decreased from $96 million to