Competition Bureau set to try to overturn Rogers-Shaw decision at Fed Appeal Court

OTTAWA –

The destiny of Rogers Communications Inc.’s proposed takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. goes earlier than the Federal Court of Appeal right now because the Competition Bureau seeks to overturn the Competition Tribunal’s choice approving the deal.

In its attraction filings the Competition Bureau alleges the tribunal made 4 authorized errors, centred largely round how the proposed sale of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile to Videotron was factored into the choice.

The bureau argues that the tribunal erred in the way it assessed the proposed sale of Freedom Mobile, a deal it says would make Videotron depending on Rogers for help, and likewise erred in counting on unenforceable commitments across the deal.

In its response, Rogers says that the bureau has relied on oblique assaults on the tribunal’s evaluation of the proof that it’s presenting as core questions of legislation.

Rogers says the claims of profound authorized error and calamitous coverage implications are “unhelpful rhetoric,” and that the tribunal’s choice is “quintessentially fact-based and manifestly serves the public interest.”

The listening to on the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa is about to run a single day, with a choice date on the attraction not but set because the prolonged Jan. 31 time limit of the deal approaches.

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 24, 2023.