The Competition Tribunal’s rushed Rogers-Shaw decision puts the interests of billionaires ahead of everyday Canadians

Ottawa, ON – Late in the evening on December 29, 2022, the Competition Tribunal rejected the Competition Bureau’s request to block the harmful Rogers-Shaw transaction outright, instead accepting a remedy proposed by the merging parties that would see Rogers prop up Videotron as a replacement for the loss of Freedom and Shaw Mobile. The Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project (CAMP) released the following statement:

“Though the decision is disappointing, it is ultimately a product of Canada’s permissive and outdated merger laws,” said Keldon Bester, CAMP co-founder. “It is also disheartening to see the Tribunal rush such a critical decision for Canadians at the request of the merging parties. Despite this disappointing outcome the Government still has an opportunity to protect the interest of Canadians by clarifying and strengthening the criteria set out in Minister Champagne’s October statement. At a minimum this should include more aggressive price targets based on international benchmarks, a concrete timeframe for meeting the targets, and meaningful consequences for not doing so.”

Learn more about CAMP here.