A request for information from Canada’s Competition Bureau offers Canadians a chance to participate in the arbiter’s investigation of Rogers’ proposed purchase of Shaw.

The Bureau’s review is one of the regulatory steps that the proposed $26 billion transaction must pass to gain approval. In the weeks after the announcement, the Bureau said it had received an unprecedented number of comments from consumers.

The Bureau’s investigation of whether the proposed merger is likely to result in lessened competition for mobile wireless, internet and broadcasting services – currently offered by both providers – has reached the point where it is inviting “market participants and Canadians to submit relevant information to assist the Bureau with its investigation.” The deadline for submissions is October 29, 2021. Submissions will be kept confidential.

In the announcement release, the Bureau said it was seeking information to further assess potential impacts on competition in: mobile wireless services to consumers, consumer and small business internet services, fibre transport services, the supply of programming to television providers (or Broadcasting Distribution Undertakings (BDUs) and the provision of relay distribution services to BDUs.

The release noted that the review is “ongoing”, that “no conclusions have been made at this time” and that it “works to complete our reviews as expeditiously as possible based on the complexity of the transaction and steps necessary to gather the facts and evaluate the evidence.”