Amendments to the Competition Act introduced last month in Bill C-56 are “just a first step, a down payment on what we need to do,” Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said at the Competition Bureau’s annual summit in Ottawa. The legislation would give the agency more powers to study sectors, and remove the efficiencies defence that allows firms to complete consolidative mergers that create savings. (The Logic)

Talking point: The Liberals have framed the changes as part of their efforts to tamp down grocery inflation, but the government is also in the midst of broader review of competition policy. Its November discussion paper floated the measures included in Bill C-56 but also more sweeping changes to address what critics call anti-competitive Big Tech business practices like prioritizing their own products. Some business groups oppose both sets of changes, arguing they’re rushed or unnecessary. “I think we have some momentum, not only in Canada but if I look at other jurisdictions [for] more competition,” Champagne said, although he did not detail his next steps. Speaking immediately after, competition commissioner Matthew Boswell—who’d called for a policy review—welcomed the amendments. But he cited the results of a forthcoming bureau study that found Canada’s competitive intensity dropped between 2000 and 2020, which he said requires “a significant course correction.”