Author Archives: Mark Warner

Mark Warner was interviewed by Newstalk 1010 Toronto about how Canadian trade will be affected if the U.S. follows through on President-elect Trump’s threatened tariffs on Canadian exports and Canada’s strategies to avoid them being implemented. (November 27, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels. Mark 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 Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Mark 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. He also 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, and more recently has assisted with an electrical vehicle battery manufacturing contractual dispute.

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 on the Canadian Justice program on the News Forum to talk about what President-elect Trump’s threatened tariffs mean for Canada. (November 22, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels. Mark 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 Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Mark 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. He also 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, and more recently has assisted with an electrical vehicle battery manufacturing contractual dispute.

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 interviewed on CTV Your Morning about increasing calls by Canadian federal and provincial government leaders to delink Mexico from future trade talks between Canada and the United States. (November 21, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels. Mark 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 Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Mark 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. He also 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, and more recently has assisted with an electrical vehicle battery manufacturing contractual dispute.

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 interviewed by CBC News about Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland saying that Canada shares Trump’s grave concerns “about Mexico serving as a back door for China into the North American trading space” and hinting that it is open to sidelining Mexico in trade talks with the U.S. (November 19, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels. Mark 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 Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Mark 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. He also 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, and more recently has assisted with an electrical vehicle battery manufacturing contractual dispute.

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 interviewed by CBC News about how Donald Trump was able to break a consensus among Republican politicians about free trade and drag the party closer to public opinion and what his re-election means for Canada-U.S. trade. (November 15, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels. Mark 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 Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Mark 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. He also 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, and more recently has assisted with an electrical vehicle battery manufacturing contractual dispute.

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 CBC News article about the risks of the United States retaliating against Canada for implementing a new Digital Services Tax on large U.S. companies following the re-election of U.S. President Donald Trump. (November 13, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate, Mark advised on harmful tax competition issues and worked on other trade and competition issues, 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 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 focused, in part, on the digital media and information and communications technology sectors. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to leading ICT and digital media companies and led Ontario’s legal team in respect of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations including with respect to the Intellectual Property Chapter.

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 Warner was featured on the CBC News Weekend Business Panel talking about what Donald Trump‘s re-election means for Canada-U.S. trade, Canada’s decision to order ByteDance to wind down TikTok’s two Canadian offices but not to block Canadians from accessing the app or using it to create content, and surging home sales, falling interest rates and Canadian dollar uncertainty. (November 9, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels. Mark 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.

Mark was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and the Ministry of Research & Innovation and advised on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including Huawei. As MEDT Legal Director, he led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations (including the Canada-EU Trade Agreement and 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. He also 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, and more recently has assisted with an electrical vehicle battery manufacturing contractual dispute.

As Legal Director of the Ministry of Research and Innovation, 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 and provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to leading ICT and digital media companies.

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 interviewed by the Financial Post about what Donald Trump‘s re-election means for Canada-U.S. trade. (November 8, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels. Mark 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 Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Mark 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. He also 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, and more recently has assisted with an electrical vehicle battery manufacturing contractual dispute.

As Legal Director of the Ministry of Research and Innovation, 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 and provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to leading ICT and digital media companies.

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 on Newstalk 1010‘s Round One panel talking about the Canada-U.S. trade relationship in light of Donald Trump’s sweeping electoral victory. (November 6, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels. Mark 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 Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Mark 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. He also 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, and more recently has assisted with an electrical vehicle battery manufacturing contractual dispute.

As Legal Director of the Ministry of Research and Innovation, 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 and provided strategic legal advice with respect to the Ontario’s economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to leading ICT and digital media companies.

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 on the CBC Weekend Business Panel talking about falling inflation rates, interest rates and the Canadian dollar, the International Energy Agency global oil demand peak projected by the end of the decade and one in three Canadian workers admitting to working a side hustle during their regular work hours. (October 19, 2024) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced law in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate in Paris.

Mark provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors. Mark’s experience includes negotiating and drafting Government of Ontario grant and loan agreements and equity investments for clean energy (solar and wind) projects and advising the Ontario Government on trade issues in the design of the Green Energy Act and subsequently with respect to the Japanese WTO challenge to its domestic content provisions / local procurement provisions. Mark has provided competition law advice to a major oil company concerning oil refining and retail distribution in North America and advised on the first ever post-accession European Commission notification of a merger involving two of Central Europe’s largest refiners of crude oil. Earlier in his career, Mark participated in an international arbitration relating to the expropriation of the assets of a U.S.-based oil company in Libya and related issues under applicable sanctions and foreign asset control rules. 

Mark is a former Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation.  Mr. Warner 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 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.