Counterfactual

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.