Dear Competition Law Section Members,
Yes, it’s that magic time of year when the kids finally go back to school and we start another CBA Section year!
I’m both honoured and excited to be Chair of the CBA Competition Law Section for the next twelve months. I hope to build on the excellent work of my predecessors who have developed the Section into what it is today (an active Section with over 1,000 members from across the country).
The upcoming year promises to deliver new decisions, cases and directions in Canadian and international competition law. We undoubtedly will have an action-packed year ahead of us and I am happy to provide a “sneak preview” of a few key upcoming events and ways to get involved with the Section’s many activities.
CBA Competition Law Fall Conference – October 26-27 – Shaw Centre, Ottawa
Mark your calendars for October 26 and 27 and register for the upcoming CBA Competition Law Fall Conference, chaired by Shuli Rodal of Osler, Harkin Harcourt LLP. The conference is later than usual this year but the Competition Bureau Charity Golf Tournament will go on (competition lawyers and economists are a hearty bunch)! Bring your toques and clubs to support a great cause on Wednesday, October 25. All experience levels are welcome.
Inspired, in part, by the Government of Canada’s Innovation Agenda, the theme of the Fall Conference is Competition Law and Innovation. We’ll be discussing the role that new or emerging technologies can play in competition law enforcement and compliance as well as the role that competition law and policy can play in facilitating innovation.
I am proud of the agenda that we have put together and hope you will join us in Ottawa to hear the latest in merger review (economics, vertical mergers and efficiencies), cartel detection and enforcement, leniency and class actions as well as other developments in cutting edge areas such as the treatment of big data in antitrust. As always, we have lined up a fantastic array of domestic and international thought leaders as speakers, including senior representatives from the Competition Bureau, and CADE. We also have Jesse Hirsh (you may know him from the CBC) as our keynote speaker for the dinner on Thursday evening at Restaurant 18.
CBA Competition Law Section Committees and Publications
We are fortunate to have an active CBA leadership with 12 committees preparing for the 2017-18 year. Last year, these fantastic committees put together 34 CLE, networking and social events. These events are a great way to keep abreast of the latest developments and are absolutely free if you are a CBA member. The committees also give you an opportunity to contribute to the Section’s commentaries on proposed changes from the Bureau and the federal government more generally, that will impact competition law and practice.
Visit the Section’s committees page and feel free to get in touch with the committee leadership to see how you can get involved in upcoming CLE sessions. We’d also love to hear any programming ideas or needs you may have. For more information and updates on programs and events, please visit the Section’s webpage.
The Canadian Competition Law Review (CCLR) is another great way to get involved or brush up on the latest legal or economic thinking. CCLR is a peer-edited review that is published twice a year and is available free online. Papers can be submitted to cancomplrev@cba.org. As an added incentive, the Bill Miller Memorial Award is presented annually for up to two of the best articles published in CCLR.
With debates about algorithms, efficiencies, big data and antitrust abounding and even making their way into popular culture, it is a fascinating time to be practicing in antitrust. I hope that you will continue to contribute to the discourse through our Section and I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you at upcoming events.
Best regards,
Anita Banicevic,
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Chair, CBA Competition Law Section 2017-18