www.canadianlawyermag.com 29
"Antitrust is sexy these days," she says, espe-
cially when it comes to the question of powerful
digital players. Regulators worldwide are
focused on these FANGA firms — Facebook,
Apple, Netflix, Google and Amazon.
"They are very big in the public's imagi-
nation right now and big with politicians,"
Aitken says. To the extent that people will look
to the competition agencies to solve some of
the issues that come from these firms' posi-
tion in the market, a review of the regulators'
resources is better than outlawing through
legislation specific types of acquisitions these
companies might make.
While competition bureau merger reviews
may be a sexy topic these days, Joneja at Blakes
offers a reminder about the intense interest
in megadeals like the proposed Rogers-Shaw
transaction. "It is essential to keep in mind that
the vast majority of deals in Canada, even ones
that require mandatory review by the bureau,
don't raise competition issues.
"When these deals come up, there's always
some discussion of the need for a review, but
for the most part, the bureau is doing what is
supposed to do."
BUREAU MERGER REVIEWS ONGOING AT END OF FISCAL YEAR
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2019-20
total
2017-18
total
2015-16
total
2018-19
total
2016-17
total
2014-15
total
31
37
36
32
24
22
Pamela Santora
LLM in Criminal Law
and Procedure (2022)
Assistant Crown Attorney,
Ontario Ministry of the
Attorney General