COUNTERFACTUAL PODCAST – Live Recording

Location: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
340 Albert St., Suite 1950
Constitution Square, Tower 3
Ottawa, ON K1R 7Y6

8:00 am - 9:00 am

Registration
Room: Ballroom Foyer
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Breakfast
Room: Ballroom Foyer
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9:00 am - 9:15 am

Welcome and Introduction
Room: Ballroom

Speakers:
Dominic Thérien, Section Chair, McCarthy Tétrault (Montréal, QC)
Adam S. Goodman, Conference Chair, Dentons Canada LLP (Toronto, ON)

9:15 am - 10:30 am

Opening Plenary
Session 1: Fit for Purpose? Canadian Competition Law 2.0 in the Time of Tariffs
Room: Ballroom

This session will consider the legislative rationale for many of the most significant recent Competition Act amendments and whether the amendments have had and can be expected to have the desired effects of boosting competition and productivity in an era of economic and political uncertainty. The panel will also consider new Competition Bureau guidance and enforcement developments in the broader political and economic context of new internal and international trade negotiations. Particular attention will be paid to the new structural presumptions and whether Canadian merger review aligns with the Government’s other policy considerations, including resiliency in the face of tariffs, and the enforcement practice of Canada’s trading partners.

Speakers:
Senator Colin Deacon, Senate of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Renée Duplantis, Charles River Associates (Toronto, ON)
Jason Gudofsky, McCarthy Tétrault LLP (Toronto, ON)
Renata Hesse, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP (Washington, DC)
Jeanne Pratt, Competition Bureau (Gatineau, QC)

Moderator: W. Michael G. Osborne, Cozen O'Connor LLP (Toronto, ON)

10:30 am - 11:00 am

Refreshment Break
Room: Ballroom Foyer

11:00 am - 12:15 pm

Breakout Sessions
Session 2A: Land Ho!
Room: Ballroom

Despite an international focus on big tech and AI, the world’s oldest asset – real estate – has emerged as a key area of competition law interest and enforcement. This panel will discuss the emergence of restrictive covenants and exclusivity in commercial leases as an enforcement priority, the use of algorithms for rent setting and recently-initiated investigations and litigation, and the US National Association of Realtors settlement and the follow-on investigation and class actions in Canada, as well as analysis of market shares in real estate-related merger reviews. This session will be of particular interest to in-house counsel as they consider the implications of recent developments on their organizations’ real estate interests.

Speakers:
Beatrice Franklin, Susman Godfrey LLP (New York, NY)
Joseph Grignano, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Toronto, ON)
Max Liu, Competition Bureau (Gatineau, QC)
Kate McNeece, Goodmans LLP (Toronto, ON)

Moderator: Joshua Krane, MLT Aikins LLP (Ottawa, ON)

Session 2B: Round up the Usual Suspects: Criminal Matters Developments
Room: Adam Room

This session will consider important developments in Canadian and international criminal enforcement, including the ongoing lull of participation in immunity and leniency programs, and alternative sources of cases for enforcement agencies. Other topics to be discussed include bid-rigging enforcement, the fines and class action settlements in the bread case as well as criminal no poach and wage-fixing enforcement trends in Canada and the United States.

Speakers:
Megan E. Gerking, Morrison Foerster LLP (Washington, DC)
Christopher Graf, Dentons (London, UK)
Pierre-Yves Guay, Competition Bureau (Gatineau, QC)
Katherine Kay, Stikeman Elliott LLP (Toronto, ON)

Moderator: Guy Pinsonnault, McMillan LLP (Ottawa, ON)

12:15 pm – 1:00 pm

Luncheon and Award Presentation
Presentation of the James H. Bocking Memorial Award
Room: Ballroom

Award Presenter: Christopher Hersh, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP (Toronto, ON)  

Award Recipient: Liam Brunton, Federal Court of Appeal, Ottawa (ON)

1:00 pm – 1:45 pm

Commissioner's Keynote Address
Room: Ballroom

Speaker: Matthew Boswell, Commissioner of Competition, Competition Bureau (Gatineau, QC)

Q&A with: Adam S. Goodman, Conference Chair, Dentons Canada LLP (Toronto, ON)

1:45 pm – 3:15 pm

Afternoon Plenary
Session 3: Great Expectations: Regulatory Priorities of the Carney Government
Room: Ballroom

The new Carney government faces a raft of domestic and international challenges, from tariffs, to evolving relations with the United States, China, and India, to productivity issues, to housing, to AI, to Western alienation, to interprovincial trade barriers, and then some. This panel, made up of columnists, government relations experts, and academics will outline what regulatory lawyers can expect from this government, with a focus on FDI policy, national security, critical minerals, supply management (and other provincial trade barriers), cultural and digital industries, telecom, and transportation. 

Speakers:
Michael Geist, University of Ottawa (Ottawa, ON)
Michael Jones, Earnscliffe Strategies (Ottawa, ON)
Erin O’Toole, ADIT North America (Toronto, ON)
Heather Tory, FGS Longview (Toronto, ON)

Moderator: Subrata Bhattacharjee, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (Toronto, ON)

3:15 pm – 3:45 pm

Refreshment Break
Room: Ballroom Foyer
Sponsor

3:45 pm – 5:00 pm

Breakout Sessions
Session 4A: It's Not Easy Being Green
Room: Ballroom

This session will provide an in-depth discussion regarding historical enforcement activity and what has changed under the new reverse-onus greenwashing provisions, including the Competition Bureau’s 2025 guidance. Will we see a chill on green disclosures and initiatives? The panel will also consider how multinational businesses are managing compliance in a complicated international context – with some jurisdictions, such as Canada, prioritizing enforcement regarding potentially false and misleading green claims, and others, including certain US states, using antitrust law to challenge ESG initiatives. This session will be of particular interest to in-house counsel as they consider the implications of recent developments in Canada and abroad on the green initiatives of their organization and the industries in which they are active.

Speakers:
Charles Codère, Quebec Environmental Law Center (Montréal, QC)
Amy Ralph Mudge, Baker & Hostetler LLP (Washington, DC)
Josephine Palumbo, Competition Bureau (Gatineau, QC)
Alicia Quesnel, Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP (Calgary, AB)

Moderator: James Musgrove, McMillan LLP (Toronto, ON)

Session 4B: Enforcing and Litigating the Investment Canada Act
Room: Adam Room
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While the Investment Canada Act provides significant discretion to the Canadian government to regulate foreign direct investment, litigation – especially in the national security context – has seen a significant uptick in recent years, as foreign investors find themselves with more to lose. This panel will consider judicial review and other litigated issues in net benefit and national security reviews, including past cases like Chapters and US Steel, as well as more recent cases. As well, the panel will discuss other major Investment Canada Act developments, including new mandatory pre-closing notification requirements, increased potential penalties, and greater focus on “economic security” in the national security review process.

Speakers:
Tudor Carsten, DLA Piper (Canada) LLP (Toronto, ON)
Phil Harwood, FGS Longview (Ottawa, ON)
Kaeleigh Kuzma, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (Calgary, AB)
Rob McCarty, Foreign Investment Review and Economic Security Branch (Ottawa, ON)

Moderator: Adam Kalbfleisch, Bennett Jones LLP (Toronto, ON)

5:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Reception 
Fairmont Château Laurier: Laurier Room
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Open to all registered attendees.

7:00 pm – 9:30 pm

Dinner Event 
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National Arts Centre: O'Born Room
1 Elgin St, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5W1
Google Maps Directions Here

8:15 pm: Keynote Speaker: The Honourable Paul Crampton, Federal Court of Canada (retired) (Ottawa, ON)

This event is now sold out. Please reach out to pd@cba.org to be added to the waitlist.

9:30 pm – 12:00 am

Young Lawyers' Networking Reception
Sponsor

The Clarendon
11 George St, Ottawa, ON, K1N 8W5
Google Maps Directions Here

Open to all registered attendees.

8:00 am - 9:00 am

Registration
Room: Ballroom Foyer
Sponsor

Breakfast
Room: Ballroom Foyer
Sponsor

9:00 am – 10:15 am

Breakout Sessions
Session 5A: Scholars' Panel: Competition Policy and Canada's Productivity Challenge
Room: Ballroom

There is broad consensus among economists and policymakers that Canada has significant productivity challenges that threatens the future well-being of Canadians. The Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada called Canada’s slow productivity growth an ‘emergency’. Recent amendments to the Competition Act appear to have been driven at least in part by concerns about the role of competition policy in Canada’s lagging productivity growth relative to the US and other advanced economies.

Canadian competition policy includes both public and private enforcement and can address government policies and regulations that affect competition, including interprovincial barriers to trade, foreign ownership restrictions, and many other regulations. The speakers will discuss their research and insights on the relationship between competition policy and productivity and economic growth, and whether the Act, with the recent amendments, is likely to help address the problem or make it worse.

Speakers:
Michelle Alexopoulos, External Deputy Governor, Bank of Canada (Toronto, ON)
Joel Blit, University of Waterloo (Waterloo, ON)
Matthew Chiasson, Competition Bureau (Gatineau, QC) 
Mario Iacobacci, Deloitte (Montréal, QC)

Moderator: Elisa K. Kearney, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP (Toronto, ON)
 

Session 5B: The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi? The Evolving Landscape for Collective Actions
Room: Adam Room

For over a decade, following the tone set by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Pro-Sys, Sun-Rype, and Infineon (and later, Godfrey) cases, certification regimes across Canada have been relatively permissive. In recent years, however, a new episode in the series has emerged, with courts bucking this trend, refusing to certify certain claims, limiting the scope of others, enforcing arbitration provisions, and generally taking a harder look at more exotic claims, especially those lacking underlying guilty pleas. This panel will review the changing trends and consider whether we are observing a sea change or minor course correction. In addition, the panel will consider how the reviewable matters amendments – the lower thresholds for private applicants to obtain leave from the Competition Tribunal for Part VIII conduct as well as the addition of restitutionary disgorgement for persons affected – will change the private enforcement landscape. Can we expect the centre of gravity to shift from the courts to the Tribunal; and from the Commissioner to private litigants?

Speakers:
Chantelle Cseh, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP (Toronto, ON)
Jonathan Foreman, Foreman & Company (London, ON)
Derek Leschinsky, Justice Canada (Gatineau, QC)
Gabrielle Lachance Touchette, BCF LLP (Montréal, QC)

Moderator: Christopher Naudie, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (Toronto, ON)

10:15 am – 10:45 am

Refreshment Break
Room: Ballroom Foyer

10:45 am – 12:00 pm

Closing Plenary
Session 6: The Enforcer Emeritus Club
Room: Ballroom

Join our panel of former Commissioners and senior enforcers from other jurisdictions as they consider and debate how Canadian competition policy and enforcement activities are expected to address the major issues on the horizon, including AI, algorithms, mergers under structural presumptions, and other policy priorities, including groceries, the cost of living, and big tech. Particular attention will be paid to whether the underlying rationale for Canadian competition law enforcement has shifted or should shift away from the consumer welfare standard.

Speakers:
Melanie L. Aitken, Bennett Jones (US) LLP (Washington, DC)
Olivier Guersent (Brussels, Belgium)
Jon Leibowitz (Jackson, WY)
John Pecman, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP (Ottawa, ON)
Noah Joshua Phillips, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (Washington, DC)

Moderator: Dany H. Assaf, Torys LLP (Toronto, ON)

12:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Women in Competition Law Lunch
Room: Ballroom

Speakers: 
Amy Ralph Mudge, Baker & Hostetler LLP (Washington, DC)
Alicia Quesnel, Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP (Calgary, AB)

Q&A with: Umang Khandelwal, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP (Toronto, ON)