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Global rules on foreign direct investment (FDI)
Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
Canada | Publication | September 22, 2023
On September 21, the Minister of Finance tabled Bill C-56, which includes, among other things, proposed amendments to the Competition Act (the Act) including (i) extending the Commissioner of Competition’s compulsory powers, exercised subject to court orders, to include market studies conducted at the government’s direction, (ii) allowing the Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal) to make certain orders if the significant purpose of the agreement or arrangement is to prevent or lessen competition in any market, even if the parties to an arrangement or agreement are not competitors, and (iii) repealing the exception available for efficiencies gains brought about by mergers.1
This comes after the Prime Minister recently announced the government’s intention to introduce a first set of legislative amendments to the Act.2 The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (the ISED Minister) had also previously announced his intention to undertake a review of the Act,3 and the Government of Canada launched a consultation process for the review of the Act and published a corresponding discussion paper on the modernization of the Act on November 17, 2022.4 The consultation process concluded on March 31, 2023, and the government published a report on the feedback it had received and some considerations raised.5
The first phase of targeted amendments to the Act received royal assent in June 2022.6
The proposed amendments included in Bill C-56 are:
Bill C-56 was tabled one week after the Prime Minister’s announcement on the government’s intention to further amend the Act, suggesting the government plans to have the proposed amendments implemented as quickly as possible. The bill will be debated and revised in committee in the House of Commons and Senate.
It is important to note these are likely only the next set of amendments to the Act, and further amendments are expected as part of the broader “comprehensive review” of the competition framework in Canada. We will continue to monitor the developments in this area and provide further analysis on any resulting amendments to the Act.
Voir nos actualités juridiques antérieures sur les modifications apportées à la Loi : L’heure est au changement : d’importantes modifications à la Loi sur la concurrence ont été adoptées – et ce n’est que le début… | Canada | Cabinet juridique mondial | Norton Rose Fulbright et Vague de changements : le gouvernement fédéral apporte des modifications majeures à la Loi sur la concurrence (Canada) | Canada | Cabinet juridique mondial | Norton Rose Fulbright.
Publication
Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
Publication
On February 2, 2024, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union confirmed that the Committee of Permanent Representatives had signed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Regulation, referred to as the AI Act. Approval by the EU Parliament followed on 13 March 2024, and the AI Act is likely to appear in the EU’s Official Journal around May 2024. The AI Act aims to establish a stringent legal framework governing the development, marketing, and utilisation of artificial intelligence within the region, thereby marking a significant advancement in the regulation of this burgeoning domain.
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The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Regulation, commonly referred to as the AI Act, is expected to come into force during the summer of 2024 (the AI Act). The AI Act will be the first comprehensive legal framework for the use and development of artificial intelligence (AI), and is intended to ensure that AI systems developed and used in the EU are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly.
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