'Holy battle': Competition Bureau chief readies for fight to shake up merger laws

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Matthew Boswell represents an emerging school of thought that wants competition rules to prioritize social values rather than just economic growth

Boswell, a former Crown prosecutor who took the top job at the Competition Bureau in 2019, appears to be charting a course of his own, with an injection of federal funding in the last budget and rising public awareness around competition issues.Article content

“Efficiencies are generally things like, you know, a bunch of people will be laid off, we’ll sell some trucks, we’ll close down some trucking routes. Those are the things that count as efficiencies, and they’re weighed off against higher prices for consumers,” he said. “We should be talking about that and wondering, are we doing the right thing in this country for consumers?”

“Part of the concern,” Quaid said, “is if you don’t allow mergers to go through between two Canadian companies because you’re worried about the impacts in the Canadian market, well then you just destroyed the chance of having any competitive firms on the world stage.” The efficiencies defence, in Quaid’s view, stands out as a uniquely Canadian compromise on competition. “At the end of the day, if the companies can make more money, if more resources can be allocated to the economy — even if they’re mostly in the hands of shareholders or the owners of businesses — that’s good,” she said. “Despite the fact that we say we care about competitive markets, we’re willing to compromise on that.

 

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