Rogers and Shaw applications are pictured on a cellphone in Ottawa on Monday, May 9, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – The judge presiding over the public hearing on Rogers Communications Inc. $26-billion proposed takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. says too much of the case is being held behind closed doors.
As the second week of the hearing got underway, the head of the Competition Tribunal panel, Chief Justice Paul Crampton, says there has been an “overuse” of the confidential setting so far.
Crampton says he will be more vigilant in deciding what confidential evidence is presented during the proceedings, and asked the lawyers involved to make a greater effort to reduce this.
He notes, however, that there has been competitively sensitive information in some of the witness statements and that it is important to ensure that this is not publicly disclosed as it “could harm competition.”
The hearing aims to resolve the impasse between the Commissioner of Competition and Rogers and Shaw.
The Competition Bureau is one of three regulatory agencies that must approve the deal before it can close, in addition to the CRTC and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
The hearing is expected to last four weeks with oral arguments scheduled for mid-December.
Rogers is hoping to close the Shaw deal by the end of the year, with a possible further extension to Jan. 31, 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:RCI.B, TSX:SJR.B, TSX:QBR.B)
