Tag Archives: Canadian Competition Lawyer

Mark Warner was interviewed on Newstalk 1010 in Toronto about the United Kingdom pausing it’s bilateral trade negotiations with Canada. (January 25, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and has previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate, where he participated in the negotiations of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Group on Trade and Competition Policy and the Working Group on Trade and Investment.

Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario in the CETA negotiations, including with respect to Trade in Alcoholic Beverages and Monopolies and State Enterprises and on IP, Patent Litigation and Drug Reimbursement issues, Cross Border Trade in Services; Temporary Entry and Stay of Natural Persons for Business Purposes, Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications, and Regulatory Cooperation. As Legal Director also led Ontario’s legal team for the negotiation of the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement, advised on trade disputes (including the Green Energy Act and softwood lumber) and various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration matters.

As a partner in a leading boutique law firm in Brussels specializing in European and international law, Mr. Warner negotiated with European Commission Competition officials the first ever notified merger of companies from accession countries (Polish and Czech oil companies) following EU ion in 2004.

Mark Warner was featured on the CBC Weekend Business Panel talking about the deadline for the repayment of loans under the Canada Emergency Business Account program, Hertz’s plans to sell a third of its US electric vehicle fleet and reinvest in gas-powered cars and the Securities and Exchange Commission approving several spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. (January 13, 2023) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate in Paris.

Mark is a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler, and various grant and loan agreements to leading automotive and automotive parts companies, including to electric car battery manufacturer, Electrovaya and a Better Place demonstration centre and electric vehicle charging station network. Mr. Warner also provided advice to the Government of Ontario on the design of the Green Energy Act and related WTO dispute settlement proceedings. More recently, Mark has assisted with an electrical vehicle battery manufacturing contractual dispute. As a former Acting Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, Mark was responsible for prosecutions under the provincial consumer protection laws and regulations and advising on the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act and regulating the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council.

As a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mark was responsible for establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation (OCGC) and providing corporate governance legal advice and secretarial support to its Board of Directors. Mark also led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation.

In addition to being a lawyer, Mr. Warner has a Masters Degree in International Economics from the University of Toronto.

Mark Warner was featured on Global News National talking about Florida getting U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to import cheaper drugs from Canada and Canada’s ability to block some bulk prescription drug exports. (January 5, 2024) Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario trade and investment negotiation and dispute settlement matters including NAFTA . Mr. Warner, a Canadian and U.S. lawyer, who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels, and has advised pharmaceutical companies on pricing, distribution and other competition and trade matters. Mr. Warner has also advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate, where he represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Group on Trade and Competition Policy.

Mr. Warner has assisted pharmaceutical clients in the global distribution of HIV / AIDS anti-retroviral drugs and the development of innovative patient access programs in the developing world, advised a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company and its French and South African subsidiaries in a cartel investigation involving 11 leading global Pharmaceutical companies in South Africa and advised a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company on competition law issues relating to the distribution of various nuclear medicine imaging agents in Canada.

As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Mr. Warner advised Ontario on the negotiations of the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) including on IP, patent litigation and drug reimbursement issues and on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including leading global pharmaceutical companies for research, manufacture and clinical trial projects. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, Mr. Warner also led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund with an emphasis on life-sciences companies and advised on legal and corporate governance issues in the formation of Clinical Trials Ontario.

Mark Warner was interviewed by the Financial Post for its Outlook 2024 series about Canada’s trade outlook for the coming year. (January 2, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. Mark was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade advising on trade negotiations and dispute settlement and on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including Huawei. Mr. Warner also previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate where he participated in the negotiations of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Group on Trade and Competition Policy and the Working Group on Trade and Investment.

As a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. As a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mark was responsible for establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation and led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation.

Mark has been an adviser to the Governments of Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam on competition and trade policy and at the invitation of the U.S. Department of State lectured in five cities in Japan on international antitrust law and policy.

Mark provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients on trade agreements, trade remedies, Investment Canada and CFIUS issues, sanctions, export and import controls, foreign asset controls, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility and compliance issues as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors.

Mark Warner was featured on the CBC Weekend Business Panel looking back on 2023 and looking into our crystal ball: the resurrection of unions and strikes, Glencore hostile takeover of Teck Resources and the aftermath /, the Royal Bank of Canada’s acquisition of HSBC Canada, resurgent post-COVID supply chain challenges due to El Nino and Climate Change effects in the Panama Canal and war risks in the Suez Canal and in the Red Sea and the simmering border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana. (December 23, 2023) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate in Paris, and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

Mark is a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. As Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mr. Warner led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation. As a former Acting Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, Mark was responsible for prosecutions under the provincial consumer protection laws and regulations and advising on the introduction of the Province’s pay day lending laws, the administration of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act and regulating the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council.

Mark advises on foreign corrupt practices, foreign asset controls, anti-money laundering and export controls issues, including assisting various multinational firms in developing compliance programs in these areas. Mark provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients on trade agreements, trade remedies, sanctions, export and import controls, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility and compliance issues as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors.

Mark is a past Chair of the International and Economics Committees of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law as well as a member of the Section’s Task Forces on Competition Policy and NAFTA and Antitrust in the Global Economy. In addition to being a lawyer, Mr. Warner has a Masters Degree in International Economics from the University of Toronto.

Mark Warner was featured on the CBC Weekend Business Panel talking about Canada avoiding slipping into a technical recession, interest rates, labour shortages, bank earnings and bank job cuts. (December 2, 2023) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate in Paris. Mark is a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler.

As a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mark was responsible for establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation (OCGC) and providing corporate governance legal advice and secretarial support to its Board of Directors, as well as to the Board of Directors of the Ontario Immigrant Investor Corporation (OIIC), and other agencies administered by the Ministries. Mark also led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation. As a former Acting Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, Mark was responsible for prosecutions under the provincial consumer protection laws and regulations.

Mark is a past Chair of the International and Economics Committees of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law as well as a member of the Section’s Task Forces on Competition Policy and NAFTA and Antitrust in the Global Economy. In addition to being a lawyer, Mr. Warner has a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Toronto.

Mark Warner was featured in the National Post talking about Canada barring a US subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceuticals, an Israeli-based generic pharmaceutical company from contracting with the Canadian government until spring 2025 for its role in a “domestic antitrust cartel” in the U.S. (November 27, 2023) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate. At the OECD, Mark participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

Mr. Warner has assisted pharmaceutical clients in the global distribution of HIV / AIDS anti-retroviral drugs and the development of innovative patient access programs in the developing world, advised a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company and its French and South African subsidiaries in a cartel investigation involving 11 leading global Pharmaceutical companies in South Africa and advised a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company on competition law issues relating to the distribution of various nuclear medicine imaging agents in Canada.

Mark was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations including the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (including on IP, patent litigation and drug reimbursement issues) and the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement). As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and the Ministry of Research & Innovation, he also advised Ontario on on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including leading global pharmaceutical companies for research, manufacture and clinical trial projects. As Legal Director of MRI, Mr. Warner also led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund with an emphasis on life-sciences companies, drafted funding agreements, including for the Ontario Research Fund and Ontario Brain Institute, and advised on legal and corporate governance issues in the formation of Clinical Trials Ontario.

Mark Warner was interviewed on Newstalk1010 in Toronto (Listen from 29:35) about the Canadian government’s options to recover $173 million it gave to soon-to-be defunct medical company Medicago for COVID-19 vaccine development. (November 9, 2023) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate. At the OECD, Mark participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

Mr. Warner has assisted pharmaceutical clients in the global distribution of HIV / AIDS anti-retroviral drugs and the development of innovative patient access programs in the developing world, advised a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company and its French and South African subsidiaries in a cartel investigation involving 11 leading global Pharmaceutical companies in South Africa and advised a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company on competition law issues relating to the distribution of various nuclear medicine imaging agents in Canada. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario on the negotiations of the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) including on IP, patent litigation and drug reimbursement issues and on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including leading global pharmaceutical companies for research, manufacture and clinical trial projects. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, Mr. Warner also led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund with an emphasis on life-sciences companies, drafted funding agreements, including for the Ontario Research Fund and Ontario Brain Institute, and advised on legal and corporate governance issues in the formation of Clinical Trials Ontario.

In addition, as MEDT Legal Director, Mark led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler in the difficult context of the 2008-2009 Recession.

[Listen from 29:35]

Mark Warner was featured on the CBC Weekend Business Panel talking about the proposed exit of the Province of Alberta from the Canada Pension Plan, FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried convictions for fraud and the exit of Blackberry‘s CEO, John Chen. (November 4, 2023) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate, and participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

As a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, Mark was responsible for establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation (OCGC) and providing corporate governance legal advice and secretarial support to its Board of Directors, as well as to the Board of Directors of the Ontario Immigrant Investor Corporation (OIIC), and other agencies administered by the Ministries. Mark also led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation. As a former Acting Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, Mark was responsible for prosecutions under the provincial consumer protection laws and regulations.

As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Mark advised on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including Huawei. As Assistant Director of the University of Baltimore’s Centre for International and Comparative Law, Mark hired a Chinese scholar to begin a research program on reforming anti-monopoly law in China, one of the first such efforts at the time. 

Mark is a past Chair of the International and Economics Committees of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law as well as a member of the Section’s Task Forces on Competition Policy and NAFTA and Antitrust in the Global Economy. In addition to being a lawyer, Mr. Warner has a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Toronto.

Mark Warner was featured in a Toronto Sun article about the Kroger / Albertsons grocery store merger in the U.S. and how it compares and contrasts with Canadian antitrust / competition law enforcement trends. (September 13, 2023) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate in Paris. Mark has assisted a national grocery in connection with an ongoing cartel investigation.

As a former Acting Legal Director for the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, Mark was responsible for prosecutions under the provincial consumer protection laws and regulations (including for door to door water cooler salespeople and the introduction of the Province’s pay day lending laws). Mark’s experience with online technologies and e-commerce includes: participating in OECD-wide policy work on laws and regulations affecting e-commerce, acting as Chair, ICC Competition Commission Working Party on E-Commerce and Competition Policy, serving as an original ICANN domain name dispute resolution arbitrator for eResolution and WIPO and as Rapporteur of the Hague Conference on Private International Law Commission on Jurisdiction for Torts in Electronic Commerce.

Mark is a past Chair of the International and Economics Committees of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law as well as a member of the Section’s Task Forces on Competition Policy and NAFTA and Antitrust in the Global Economy. In addition to being a lawyer, Mr. Warner has a Masters Degree in International Economics from the University of Toronto.