Thank you so much.
I think the broad framework within which the Competition Bureau operates is correct. Every merger, for example, has its benefits and its costs, so you evaluate the net benefits to the consumer, and this is what you go with.
What I feel is happening is that the translation of this broad framework into the action that we end up seeing.... For example, there's this idea of evaluating efficiency gains against market power. It seems that, in many mergers that clearly seem to increase market power, the resolution is still to go ahead with the merger because there are some efficiency gains to be achieved. This may be correct; however, it is difficult for me to evaluate in many instances to what extent efficiency benefits outweigh market power.
Moreover, with the idea of efficiency gains, I want to mention that it is important to maybe redefine who the focus is of these efficiency gains, because if a company, as a result of the merger, can produce at lower cost, it definitely benefits the company—that is, the shareholders of the firm. However, it is not clear who else ends up winning from that. If prices go up, consumers are definitely hurt.
Moreover, improvements in efficiency often come at the expense of removing duplicate operations, which automatically leads to layoffs. This is another important aspect that I think is important to keep in mind, and I didn't see it fleshed out enough in the decisions of the Competition Bureau.