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The reasons why the over-reaching nature of the amendments may make it into law could lie with the way they made it through government. Generally amendments of this scale would be introduced as stand-alone bills, and as such would receive the full scrutiny of government committees and the Senate before becoming law. Not so with the Competition Act amendments. The amendments were part of the budget bill containing a bailout package aimed at resuscitating the ailing Canadian econ- omy. Part of the deal that was made to get the budget bill through the minority Parliament was that the passage would be swift. Therefore, the Competition Act amendments received less scrutiny than many of those who deal with the law would have liked. The Competition Bureau was then tasked with drafting the guidelines to deal with the amendments to the act. In what could be seen as a departure from its political masters, the bureau has been hailed from its openness and respon- siveness. Following the introduction of the legislation in January, Bodrug sent letters to the federal government calling on it to parse the amendments from the budget bill so that issues surrounding areas like s. 45 could be discussed. The government declined to separate the amendments. In response to the bureau's guideline consultation, Bodrug says, "the con- sultation process provides an oppor- tunity for businesses to suggest to the Competition Bureau other types of agreements that may raise issues under the new provisions and seek similar guidance in the Bureau's final guide- lines." Following the submission closing dates, responses will be available on the Competition Bureau's web site, as long as the person or group making the sub- mission agrees to the posting. Need to reconstruct an accident? court reporter? Find a www.legalsuppliersguide.com for hundreds of suppliers across Canada M I PR Refi ned search capabilities, complete contact details and directlinks to suppliers helps you fi nd the service you need RIGHT NOW! Legal Suppliers Guide The legal community's business-to-business site LegalSuppliers_mag.indd 1 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com JULY 2009 53 3/24/09 10:12:22 AM Structure $ a settlement? D N V E E O W &