Tausi Insider

The Competition Tribunal hearing into the proposed $26-billion merger of Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. is set to wrap up and final oral arguments are set to be heard on Dec. 13 and 14. Melissa Tait/Tausi Insider After 18 days of testimony, scores of witnesses and tense moments of cross-examination, the Competition Tribunal hearing into the proposed $26-billion merger of Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T and Shaw Communications Inc. SJR-B-T is coming to a close. While the tribunal typically takes months to render a decision, Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton, who is overseeing the hearings, said he would like to release a decision before Christmas if possible. Oral arguments are set to be heard on Dec. 13 and 14, more than a week after Thursday’s conclusion of the evidentiary portion of the hearing. The Competition Bureau is asking the tribunal to block the merger of Canada’s two largest cable companies, a deal in which Quebecor Inc.’s QBR-B-T Videot...

An Air Canada aircraft covered with snow and ice is moved by a tug as a Westjet aircraft is seen being moved behind it at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on Dec. 21, 2022. DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press Canada’s busiest airport is braced for more travel chaos as Environment Canada forecasts a winter storm will hit Toronto starting Thursday, with rain, snow, high winds and freezing temperatures threatening people’s holiday plans. Heavy snowfalls and frigid weather in parts of Canada caused commercial flight delays and cancellations across much of Western Canada earlier this week, creating headaches for hundreds stuck in terminals such as Vancouver International Airport, which said Wednesday it was limiting international arrivals to reduce the congestion on the tarmac. The arctic cold snap that hit British Columbia on Sunday then began breaking temperature records in Alberta on Monday evening, leading to hundreds of flights being delayed or cancelled out of Edmonton ...

The Competition Bureau has expanded its appeal of the Competition Tribunal’s decision to permit a proposed $20-billion deal between the telecoms, adding two claims of legal error to its initial arguments. The bureau will face off against Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. at the Federal Court of Appeal on Jan. 24, just one week before the takeover deadline of Jan. 31 set by the companies. The tribunal is a quasi-judicial body that adjudicates cases brought by the bureau, an independent law-enforcement agency that seeks to protect competition in Canada. The bureau is arguing the tribunal should have first considered the deal just between Rogers and Shaw alone, and then the divestiture of Freedom Mobile to Quebecor Inc., instead of considering the divestiture alongside the original deal. But the tribunal ruled that even if it had analyzed the merger as the bureau wanted, it would have come to the same decision. Opinion: Canadians should be wary of the rushed Rogers...

Rogers and Shaw applications are pictured on a cellphone in Ottawa on May 9, 2022. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press A House of Commons industry and technology committee is preparing to call a second public hearing into Rogers Communications Inc.’s proposed $20-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. before the end of the month, according to sources. The committee, which recommended against the deal in a report published in March of 2022, plans to take another look at the takeover, as it now involves the divestiture of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile to Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron Ltd., according to four people familiar with the matter. The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorized to discuss the committee’s plans publicly. The committee comprises MPs from the Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic parties and the Bloc Québécois. Its recommendations are non-binding but could put pressure on Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, whose approval is required for t...

Rogers Communications Inc. says the Competition Bureau’s appeal of its $20-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. should be dismissed, claiming the law enforcement agency overlooked key facts and wrongly interpreted the Competition Tribunal’s assessments of evidence as legal error. In documents submitted to the Federal Court of Appeal, Rogers RCI-B-T made its case on behalf of Shaw SJR-B-T and Videotron Ltd. in response to the written arguments submitted last week by Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell. In December, the Competition Tribunal had dismissed the bureau’s claims that the merger would result in less competition among telecommunications providers in Canada. The companies and the bureau will face off before the court on Jan. 24. The bureau has argued that the tribunal should have initially considered the deal only between Rogers and Shaw, without the Freedom Mobile divestiture as a remedy to the loss of competition that could result from the takeover. In its factu...

Andy Kaplan-Myrth, a lawyer at TekSavvy, in Gatineau, Que., on Dec. 22, 2022. Blair Gable/Blair Gable Photography An independent internet service provider is asking Canada’s telecommunications regulator to review the favourable business arrangements struck between Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T and Videotron Ltd. as part of Rogers’s takeover of Shaw Communications Inc., SJR-B-T claiming the deals violate the Telecommunications Act and could stifle competition through price discrimination. TekSavvy Solutions Inc., one of Canada’s largest internet wholesalers, has filed an application with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), asking the commission to investigate what it says are illegal agreements between Rogers and Videotron before the takeover closes. As part of its $20-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc., Rogers has agreed to sell Shaw’s Freedom Mobile, Canada’s fourth-largest telecom provider, to Videotron for $2.85-billion, and commi...

Anthony Lacavera, Globalive’s founder and chairman, on Dec. 13, 2021. Christopher Katsarov/Tausi Insider Globalive Inc. is attempting to re-enter Canada’s wireless industry with a bid to acquire airwaves from now-defunct Manitoba carrier Xplore Mobile Inc. Anthony Lacavera, Globalive’s founder and chairman, said the bid, if successful, would allow his company to start offering wireless services in Manitoba. His aim is to acquire additional spectrum – airwaves used to transmit wireless signals – by participating in coming auctions to create a national, wireless-only carrier. “We will bring wireless prices across Canada down to globally competitive levels for all Canadians,” Mr. Lacavera said in a statement. He declined to disclose the price or other details of his offer to Xplore Mobile, which was shuttered in August, 2022. Globalive’s bid is contingent on approval by both Xplore Mobile and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the federal department tasked with overse...

The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed the Competition Bureau’s challenge of Rogers Communications Inc.’s RCI-B-T proposed $20-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. SJR-B-T, bringing a deal that has faced repeated hurdles for close to two years a major step closer to the finish line. Final approval for the takeover, which would combine Canada’s two largest cable networks and create an opportunity for Montreal-based telecom Videotron Ltd. to expand its business westward, now rests with federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne. Mr. Champagne said in a statement on Tuesday after the court ruling that he will issue a decision “in due course.” In order to approve the transaction, Mr. Champagne has to allow the transfer of Shaw’s wireless licences to Quebecor Inc.’s QBR-B-T Videotron, which has struck a deal to acquire Shaw’s Freedom Mobile wireless carrier for $2.85-billion. The federal government has said its priority is to ensure that the deal between Rogers and S...

The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed the Competition Bureau’s challenge of Rogers Communications Inc.’s RCI-B-T proposed $20-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. SJR-B-T, bringing a deal that has faced repeated hurdles for close to two years a major step closer to the finish line. Final approval for the takeover, which would combine Canada’s two largest cable networks and create an opportunity for Montreal-based telecom Videotron Ltd. to expand its business westward, now rests with federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne. Mr. Champagne said in a statement on Tuesday after the court ruling that he will issue a decision “in due course.” In order to approve the transaction, Mr. Champagne has to allow the transfer of Shaw’s wireless licences to Quebecor Inc.’s QBR-B-T Videotron, which has struck a deal to acquire Shaw’s Freedom Mobile wireless carrier for $2.85-billion. The federal government has said its priority is to ensure that the deal between Rogers and S...

The Federal Court of Appeal might rule in favour of Rogers-Shaw takeover, but the battle isn’t over – the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is next. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press Dwayne Winseck is a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University and is a contributing author to the Centre for International Governance Innovation. The $20-billion blockbuster deal between Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. appeared set to close after the Federal Court of Appeal on Tuesday killed the Competition Bureau’s renewed bid to block it. Even if the bureau raises the matter to the Supreme Court, there seems to be little chance of success for recovering its case. And Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne will be hard-pressed to not give his blessing. But the regulation journey is not over for Rogers’s takeover of Shaw – the sixth-largest in Canadian history. There are serious headwinds still to face. Last Fr...

Members of Parliament questioned government officials and industry experts on Wednesday about how the proposed takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. by Rogers Communications Inc. will affect the competitiveness of Canada’s telecommunications industry. Several MPs expressed concerns about the proposed takeover during the second public hearing convened on the matter by the House of Commons industry and technology committee. The committee, which includes MPs from the Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic parties and the Bloc Québécois, recommended against the deal early last year. The Liberal, Conservative and New Democrat MPs decided to re-examine the issue in light of the proposed divestiture of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile wireless carrier to Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron Ltd. for $2.85-billion. The hearing took place the day after the Federal Court of Appeal handed the telecoms a major victory in a $20-billion takeover battle that has spanned nearly two years. The final approval now rests wi...

Telus has waged an aggressive campaign to keep Rogers and Quebecor out of its home turf in British Columbia and Alberta. Fred Lum/the Globe and Mail Is there any better evidence of the consumer-friendly competition coming to Western Canada’s telecom market than Telus Corp.’s T-T relentless opposition to takeovers that would reshape the industry? Telus chief executive Darren Entwistle and his team have pulled out all the stops to block Rogers Communications Inc.’s RCI-B-T planned $20-billion acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc. SJR-B-T, along with the sale of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile wireless business to Quebecor Inc. subsidiary Videotron. Court filings and government hearings have pulled back the curtain on “Project Fox” – as in fox in the henhouse – Telus’s name for its aggressive campaign to keep Rogers and Quebecor out of its home turf in British Columbia and Alberta. Let’s be clear: Mr. Entwistle is doing exactly what Telus shareholders pay him to do. He’s defending the company’s...