Bryan Carney 1 Mar 2021 | TheTyee.ca

Documents from axed Competition Bureau probe appear to contradict Postmedia CEO.

A three-year criminal conspiracy investigation into the swapping and closing of newspapers by Postmedia and Torstar was quietly shelved early last month. Legal experts say the Competition Bureau, Canada’s antitrust law enforcement branch, missed a chance to hone its legal weapons against monopolistic practices when it folded its case without bringing it to the courts.

But the bar is set very high to convict anyone of violating the Competition Act — just how high made clear by recently unsealed documents examined by The Tyee.

The documents from the investigation made public Feb. 11 indicate Postmedia and Torstar each knew that the other would simultaneously close swapped newspapers. In emails, executives at Torstar referenced discussions with Postmedia on “who will terminate whose staff” and which would make “closure announcements.” To date, only descriptions of the documents by a Competition Bureau lawyer were unsealed to the public.

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