After a party caucus retreat in London, Ont., Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised bills that will give the Competition Bureau new power to demand corporate information as it studies market sectors and remove merging companies’ right to argue that their own efficiencies help make the case for fewer market participants. He also said the government will cut the GST from the costs of building new rental housing and extend loan repayment deadlines for the pandemic-era Canada Emergency Business Account by a year. (The Logic)

Talking point: The cost of living generally, and the cost of housing in particular, are Canadians’ biggest concerns, according to pollsters (who find Liberal support in freefall), and a lack of housing is intimately linked to Canadian firms’ efforts to attract talent. Competition commissioner Matthew Boswell has long sought more powers and Trudeau’s new pledge is a partial response; the GST promise would fulfill a pledge the Liberals made in the 2015 election campaign, when they estimated it would save builders $125 million a year