Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell calls it quits early
Consumer advocates petition government for a "monopoly cop" and warn against placating Bay Street by naming a weak successor
Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell is stepping down ahead of schedule, prompting concerns from consumer advocates a few months early about who will succeed him.
Boswell’s term was set to expire in February, but he says he will instead leave his post on Dec. 17.
“Upon reflection, it seemed to make more sense to leave just before the end of the calendar year,” he says. “[It] works out better in terms of personal and family calendar. Not sure what I am going to do next. Will take a little time off and figure it out, I hope.”
A spokesperson for the Competition Bureau could not say who, if anyone, would be named interim commissioner until a full-time replacement is announced.
That task now falls to Innovation, Science and Economic Development, the department under which the Competition Bureau sits. A spokesperson there also could not comment on the process or timeline.
Digital consumer advocacy group Open Media jumped on the news and on Monday launched a petition urging the government to appoint a “monopoly buster” as the next commissioner.
Boswell, who was appointed interim commissioner in May 2018 before getting the job full time in March 2019 and then an extension last year, has been an aggressive activist who successfully pushed for necessary legal reforms and budget modernization at the Bureau, Open Media executive director Matt Hatfield says.
His successor will need to be similarly proactive if the government plans to deliver on its promise of being “hawkish” on competition.
“Canada had dug itself such a deep hole on competition that a lot needed to change. Boswell did great work for a start, but we’re by no means there,” Hatfield says. “If we’re trying to make systemic change in competition, then that means sustained effort.”
Prior to being named commissioner, Boswell worked as a criminal Crown attorney and at the Ontario Securities Commission (Story continues below).
The Great Awakening: Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell
Matthew Boswell is something of a rock star among the pro-competition set. While he started out as a criminal prosecutor before turning his attention to white-collar crime, for the past seven years he’s made waves as the head of Canada’s Competition Bureau.
Boswell is the seventh commissioner since the creation of the Competition Act in 1986. His predecessors have had varied experiences, with some having significant tenures in the private sector either before or after their stints as heads of the Bureau:
John Pecman (2013-2018) worked at the Bureau in various capacities for 34 years and is now a lawyer at Fasken.
Melanie Aitken (2009-2012) was a lawyer prior to becoming commissioner, including at the Department of Justice, and returned to law after at Bennett Jones.
Sheridan Scott (2004-2009), now retired, spent nine years at Bell prior to becoming the commissioner, with four of those as the company’s chief regulatory officer. She also worked at the CBC and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
Konrad von Finckenstein (1997-2003) started as a lawyer in the Department of Justice and worked as a trade negotiator. After his stint as commissioner, he was a judge and chair of the CRTC. He’s currently the Conflict of Interest Ethics Commissioner.
George Addy (1993-1996) was a lawyer at Gowling and Henderson prior to his Bureau stint, after which he worked as an executive at Telus and at several law firms.
Howard Wetston (1989-1993) worked at the Canadian Transport Commission, National Energy Board and Consumer Association of Canada, and was a Crown counsel in Nova Scotia and federal Department of Justice. After the Bureau, he was a federal trial judge, chief executive of the Ontario Securities Commission and Ontario Energy Board, and a Senator.
Calvin Goldman (1986-1989) was a law clerk for the Supreme Court of Canada, an associate and partner at Black, Cassels & Graydon, and returned to law after heading the Bureau.
The Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project echoes Open Media’s concerns in regards to the government choosing Boswell’s successor.
“Placating the interests of Bay Street with a weak commissioner would set the stage for further consolidation and roll-up across our economy, easing the worries of monopolists and making life less affordable,” said CAMP in its weekend newsletter.
“Instead, Canada’s next Commissioner should take up Boswell’s legacy and complete the evolution of the Competition Bureau into an effective and vigilant defender of the interests of Canadians.”
Vass Bednar, executive director of the Canadian SHIELD Institute think tank, says Boswell leaves big shoes to fill.
“The fact that he is a central character in a forthcoming stage play says so much about how he is admired and even revered,” she says, referring to the upcoming Rogers v. Rogers play opening in Toronto next month.
(More on that here at Do Not Pass Go coming very soon)