Canfor agrees to divestiture of sawmill in British Columbia

Posted on April 2, 2004

On April 1, 2004, Canfor Corporation (“Canfor”) entered into a consent agreement with the Commissioner of Competition, in which it agreed to divest its Fort St. James sawmill, located near Prince George, British Columbia.  In the proposed transaction, Canfor acquired all of the shares of Slocan Forest Products Ltd., which the Commissioner found was likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition around Prince George in respect of the purchase of logs, supply of inputs to remanufacturers, and sale and supply of wood chips.  The proposed transaction closed the same day.

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Competition Bureau Closes Inquiry IntoAlleged Misuse of Drug Patent Rules

Posted on April 1, 2004

Catherine Mckenna and Jeffrey Brown

On February 27, 2004, the Competition Bureau announced that it had closed its inquiry into alleged misuses of Canada's drug patent rules by brand name pharmaceutical companies. Despite expressing some concerns about whether the appropriate balance existed in Canada between "protecting intellectual property rights and facilitating a competitive supply of pharmaceutical products for Canadian consumers", the Bureau concluded that the Competition Act "is not the appropriate vehicle for resolving what amounts to a patent dispute between two firms."1

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Canadian Merger Review:New MEGs Released in Draft for Public Comment

Posted on April 1, 2004

Susan M. Hutton and Catherine Mckenna

On March 25, 2004, the Canadian Competition Bureau released its highly anticipated draft revised Merger Enforcement Guidelines (Draft MEGs) for public comment. Once finalised this summer, they will replace the Merger Enforcement Guidelines first published in 1991 (1991 MEGs) as a comprehensive explanation of the Competition Bureau's merger enforcement policy under the Competition Act (the Act).

The revised MEGs are not intended to "reflect a shift in policy or direction" but rather to "clarify and explain the Bureau's current practice." Notably, the "safe harbour" market share thresholds established in the 1991 MEGs have not changed. Since 1991, however, there have been significant new developments in Canadian merger review, including a number of important Competition Tribunal and court decisions, as well as developments in the underlying economics. The Draft MEGs are intended to reflect these developments, and are replete with references not only to contested cases, but also to numerous uncontested cases decided - effectively - by the Commissioner.

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