Printer Friendly

OTTAWA – Grant Bishop, a law student at the University of Toronto, is the winner of the 2012 Canadian Bar Association (CBA) James H. Bocking Memorial Award for his paper, “Issues for Two-Sided Platforms in Canadian Competition Law.” The award is presented annually for the best scholarly paper submitted to the CBA’s National Competition Law Section on a subject directly related to Canadian competition law or policy.

Mr. Bishop’s paper lays out a general enforcement policy for restrictions imposed on participants of a two-sided platform by its operator and applies the policy to recent cases between Visa and MasterCard and the Toronto Real Estate Board.

“The award jury was impressed by the imaginative analysis of the paper, its insightful comparison of the differences between the two cases, and its innovative policy conclusions,” says Brian Facey, Chair of the National Competition Law Section and partner at Blakes, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto. “In particular, the jury praised the in-depth analysis of the cases – especially given the complexity of the two industries and their underlying economics.”

Mr. Bishop, who is in his final year of law studies at the University of Toronto, holds bachelor’s degrees in geological engineering and economics from Queen’s University and a Master of Arts in economics from the University of British Columbia. Prior to starting law school, he was employed in the economic research field at the Bank of Canada, the World Bank, and Toronto-Dominion Bank. He has served as a summer law student at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, and will return to article with that firm in 2013-14.

The James H. Bocking Memorial Award will be presented to Mr. Bishop at the annual Competition Law Fall Conference on Thursday, Sept. 20 at the Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Quebec. The award includes a $1,000 prize and complimentary registration for the conference. The event is open to accredited media; please contact Hannah Bernstein for accreditation.

The award was established by the National Competition Law Section in memory of the late James H. Bocking (1947-1999), a former Assistant Deputy Director of Investigation and Research at the Competition Bureau, in recognition of his contributions to Canadian competition law and policy during his many years as a Bureau official. 

The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to support for the rule of law, and improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.

A photo of Mr. Bishop is available here.