Tausi Insider

The public hearing that will determine the fate of Rogers Communications Inc.’s RCI-B-T proposed $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. SJR-B-T has turned out to be not so public after all – despite the Competition Tribunal committing to an “open court process.” Because of its potential implications for users of critical wireless and internet services, the merger of Canada’s two largest cable companies has attracted far more public attention than most hearings held by the Competition Tribunal, a quasi-judicial body that adjudicates on matters of civil competition. Many observers describe the hearings thus far as opaque and are calling for more transparency in the tribunal process. Repeatedly, during the first week of hearings, lawyers for both the cable companies and the Competition Bureau, which is attempting to block the merger, asked the judge to go into confidential sessions that have dragged on for hours. In addition, critical documents such as witness statements and t...

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...

Videotron CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau (left) arrives at the Competition Bureau at the Competition Tribunal hearing on Oct. 27 in Ottawa. Dave Chan/Tausi Insider The Competition Bureau and three of the country’s largest cable companies have filed closing arguments offering conflicting views on how the proposed $26-billion merger of Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T and Shaw Communications Inc. SJR-B-T would impact wireless competition in Western Canada. Written arguments by the two sides locked in a battle at the Competition Tribunal were made public on Friday, roughly a week after the evidentiary portion of the hearings concluded. The Competition Bureau, headed up by Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell, is asking the tribunal to block the deal in its entirety on the grounds that it would increase wireless prices in Alberta and British Columbia. Rogers and Shaw, along with intervenor Videotron Ltd., argue that the deal is good for competition and are asking the tribunal to dismi...

Shaw Communications Inc.’s assertion that its wireless business was not profitable “doesn’t stand up to scrutiny,” a lawyer for the Competition Bureau told a hearing into Shaw’s proposed $26-billion merger with Rogers Communications Inc. Lawyers for the Competition Bureau made their closing arguments in front of the Competition Tribunal on Tuesday, wrapping up a case that has spanned four weeks and included evidence from 45 witnesses. The Competition Bureau is asking the tribunal to block the merger of Canada’s two largest cable companies. The watchdog argues that the deal, which would see Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron Ltd. acquire Shaw’s Freedom Mobile, would leave Canada’s fourth-largest wireless carrier severely weakened. The Competition Bureau has positioned Shaw’s Freedom Mobile as a “maverick” competitor responsible for driving down cellphone bills. However, Shaw executives have testified that the carrier, which serves 1.7 million customers in Ontario, Alberta and B.C., has not ge...

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...

The Competition Bureau’s continuing and, to date, fruitless crusade against telecom takeovers now has a price tag. Lawyers for the federal regulator and its opponents at Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T, Shaw Communications Inc. SJR-B-T and Quebecor Inc. QBR-B-T have billed more than $30-million for their services. The meter is still running, as the two sides prepare for the bureau’s appeal of last month’s Competition Tribunal decision that came down squarely in the telecom companies’ favour. Taxpayers are likely to pay a significant portion of those fees. The cost that can’t be measured, yet one that dwarfs the legal bills, is the price Canada pays for being a country where stuff just doesn’t get done. From cellphones to pipelines to national securities regulators, government red tape and petty agendas are getting in the way of doing business. CEOs and institutional investors look at a $20-billion Rogers bid for Shaw that’s coming up on its second birthday and see a transaction th...

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...

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...

Shaw Communications Inc.’s assertion that its wireless business was not profitable “doesn’t stand up to scrutiny,” a lawyer for the Competition Bureau told a hearing into Shaw’s proposed $26-billion merger with Rogers Communications Inc. Lawyers for the Competition Bureau made their closing arguments in front of the Competition Tribunal on Tuesday, wrapping up a case that has spanned four weeks and included evidence from 45 witnesses. The Competition Bureau is asking the tribunal to block the merger of Canada’s two largest cable companies. The watchdog argues that the deal, which would see Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron Ltd. acquire Shaw’s Freedom Mobile, would leave Canada’s fourth-largest wireless carrier severely weakened. The Competition Bureau has positioned Shaw’s Freedom Mobile as a “maverick” competitor responsible for driving down cellphone bills. However, Shaw executives have testified that the carrier, which serves 1.7 million customers in Ontario, Alberta and B.C., has not ge...