Counterfactual

Hosted by Canadian Bar Association

Business Education

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Counterfactual is a podcast presented by the Canadian Bar Association’s Competition Law and Foreign Investment Review Section. The Counterfactual podcast strives to inform and entertain about topics of interest that lie at the core, intersection or even periphery of competition law and policy.

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39 recent

October 14, 202627 min

What’s Gender Got To Do With It? Understanding Gender Inclusive Competition Policy with Nadia Vassos (ACCC)

In this episode of the Counterfactual Podcast, Valeska Rebello sits down with Nadia Vassos, Director in the Retail and Supermarkets Branch at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and a co-author of the OECD's Gender Inclusive Competition Toolkit , to discuss what gender inclusive competition policy means and what it looks like in practice. They discuss how the toolkit came about through a partnership between the Canadian government and the OECD, walk through practical ways competition authorities can apply a gender lens to their work, and respond to the critique that gender considerations dilute enforcement.

October 6, 202627 min

Conversation with New CBA Competition Law and Foreign Investment Review Section Chair Shuli Rodal

In this Episode, new Section Chair, Shuli Rodal, provides a brief overview of the Section and its committees; reflects on her journey in the Section over two decades; explains the nature and importance of the Section’s interactions with key stakeholders and counterparts, including the Competition Bureau, the Foreign Investment Review and Economic Security Branch, the CBA, the ABA and other bar associations; reflects upon recent developments in the practice area; and offers her thoughts on what promises to be an exciting year ahead. As an added bonus, Podcast Committee Chair, Julia Potter and Annual Fall Conference Chair, Kate McNeece preview what promises to be an exciting Annual Fall Conference on October 14-16.

September 14, 202650 min

Border Crossing: A Canadian Guide to U.S. Merger Enforcement

In this episode of Counterfactual , Kirsten Cirella speaks with Dan Rosenthal, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis, about the evolving U.S. merger enforcement environment. They trace the expanded 2025 HSR rules, their subsequent vacatur and the ongoing litigation, and the FTC and DOJ request for information reconsidering what should be required at the filing stage. The discussion also explores how potential changes involving longstanding HSR exemptions, sovereign wealth funds, and foreign-government affiliations could affect cross-border deal planning. Finally, Dan explains the growing role of state attorneys general, including recent divergence from federal enforcers and the emergence of state “mini-HSR” notification regimes. This episode was recorded on May 27, 2026, and the discussion reflects the U.S. merger enforcement landscape as of that date.

June 8, 202633 min

CBA Spring Conference Recap: Key Themes in Competition and Foreign Investment

Host Julia Potter speaks with conference co-chairs Josh Chad and Laura O’Laughlin about highlights from the recent CBA Competition Law Section Spring Conference in Montreal. They discuss key themes across panels, including the growing intersection between competition law and national economic strategy, evolving merger review practices, and the anticipated expansion of private access to the Competition Tribunal. The conversation also explores the role of political will in major projects, practical insights from the keynote on foreign investment review, and competition across the AI stack.

March 31, 202646 min

Competition Law Compliance Series: Risk Identification, Assessment & Mitigation

In this episode of the Counterfactual Podcast, we hear from Beth Riley of McMillan LLP and Sultana Bennett of RBC for the second installment of our competition law compliance series. In this episode, we focus on risks: how to identify and assess the quantum of risk and how to mitigate risk while achieving business objectives. Our guests also review some hypothetical risk situations to provide additional practical advice. The first installment of the Competition Law Compliance Series can be found at: https://counterfactual.simplecast.com/episodes/compliance-compass-guiding-your-business-through-canadas-competition-laws.

March 16, 202656 min

If it’s Broke, Can You Fix It? Exploring the Right to Repair with Professor Anthony Rosborough

In this episode of the Counterfactual Podcast, Valeska Rebello and Kevin Hong sit down with Professor Anthony Rosborough, Assistant Professor of Law and Computer Science at Dalhousie University, to discuss the “Right to Repair”. They discuss the recent amendments to the Competition Act , compare Canada’s approach to other jurisdictions, address practical enforcement challenges, and examine the broader social and economic impacts on repair restrictions. This episode is a collaboration with the Young Lawyer's Committee of the CBA's Competition Law and Foreign Investment Review section.

February 24, 20261 hr 3 min

Better Know the Bureau Series: Getting to Know Jonathan Hood

In this episode, host Julia Potter continues the Better Know the Bureau series with an in‑depth conversation with Jonathan Hood, Senior Counsel at the Department of Justice for Competition Bureau Legal Services (CBLS). Jonathan shares his winding path from private practice to competition enforcement, to leading major litigation files in Canadian competition law.

February 10, 202633 min

Pending Amendments to the Environmental Claims Provisions of the Competition Act: In Conversation with Julien Beaulieu

In June 2024, the Competition Act was amended to require businesses to have testing or substantiation to support certain environmental claims, and in June 2025, the Competition Tribunal became empowered to grant leave to private parties to bring deceptive marketing cases, including in relation to environmental claims, if the Tribunal is satisfied that it would be in the “public interest.” In November 2025 the Government proposed further amendments to the environmental claims provisions of the Competition Act that would walk back some of the earlier amendments not long after they took effect. Julien Beaulieu, who was our guest in previous episodes about environmental claims that aired in April 2023 and September 2024, returns to share his insights on this important development.

December 18, 202532 min

Counterfactual LIVE! Political Special with MP Patrick Weiler

In this episode of the Counterfactual Podcast, we travel to Ottawa for our annual live episode! In this political special, we are joined by Patrick Weiler, Liberal MP for West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky Country. With MP Weiler, we discuss the Federal budget, the differences between legal advocacy and law making, and learn the behind the scenes scoop on the greenwashing amendments in Bill C-59.

December 3, 202541 min

Competition Litigation by the Numbers

In this episode of the Counterfactual Podcast, we hear from Paul-Erik Veel of Lenczner Slaght LLP about his recent report, Two Decades of Tribunal Decisions: Data-Driven Insights . After crunching the numbers from 20 years of litigation before the Competition Tribunal, Paul-Erik is here to discuss what the trends can tell us about competition litigation in the past two decades, and what may change in the next two. If you’re interested in reading the report, you can find it here: https://litigate.com/assets/uploads/20250618-142233-7576-Two-Decades-of-Competition-Tribunal-Decisions-Data-Driven-Insights.pdf .

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