Category Archives: Speeches and Conference Panels

Mark Warner participated in a Business / Trade panel in the American Bar Association Legal Summit of the Americas webinar to discuss recent political developments and legal trends affecting business and cross-border industries during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico (July 23, 2020) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York 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. He was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Research & Innovation and Consumer Services.

Mr. Warner 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. Mark led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler and on the creation of the Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, a $250 million co-investment venture capital fund. He 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 assisted a multinational pharmaceutical company in developing the legal framework for its key global pricing, licensing and distribution of anti-retroviral drugs in the face of generic competition and advised the Government of Ontario regarding various grant and loan agreements to leading global pharmaceutical companies for research, manufacture and clinical trial projects in Ontario.

Mark has provided competition and trade advice to various international institutions in Latin America including the World Bank, the OAS, the IADB and UNECLAC and has spoken at conferences in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Uruguay. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark Warner speaks about Global Trade Wars at a Global Markets Investors Roundtable sponsored by a leading Canadian bank. (September 19, 2019) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York 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. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade 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, advised on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mr. Warner 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. Mark has been a Visiting Lecturer on the GATS and Financial Services at the World Trade Institute in Berne and before attending law school was a Summer Intern in the Economic Research and Securities Lending Departments, Wood Gundy, Inc.

Mark Warner spoke on an international trade panel on Shifting Trade Patterns at the Canadian Association for Business Economics (CABE) Moneco-Econtro Policy 2019 Summer Outlook Conference on The People Vs The Economy: How Politics is Reshaping Economics in Kingston (August 27, 2019) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York 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. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade 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, advised on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark Warner participated in a Business / Trade panel in the American Bar Association Legal Summit of the Americas in Chicago to discuss the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) in Congress and what it means for specific sectors of the North American economy. (June 19, 2019) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York 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. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade,Mr. Warner led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations, advised on trade and investment disputes and led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. Mark has provided competition and trade advice to various international institutions in Latin America including the World Bank, the OAS, the IADB and UNECLAC and has spoken at conferences in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Uruguay. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark Warner was invited to participate in the Canadian Competition Bureau Data Forum in Ottawa on May 30th, 2019. The workshop featured speakers from business, academia, the legal community, and government, both domestic and international. Participants discussed: the role of antitrust in keeping pace with digital platforms; the boundaries between privacy and competition; the future of data portability and interoperability; and the regulatory and enforcement landscape.

Mark chaired an Insight Research Canadian Sharing Economy Symposium in Toronto in 2015. 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’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 a panelist in a Pilot Law / Ontario Bar Association Natural Resources And Energy Law program on the commercial Issues, international trade implications, and the increasing role of Aboriginal participation in the face of existing challenges and what is needed to exploit emerging opportunities for the forestry industry. (May 9, 2019) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York 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. Mr. Warner 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 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, advised on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark Warner participated in Export Development Canada (EDC) Webinar about how the new United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) update of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) affects Canadian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). (October 18, 2018) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York 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. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade led Ontario’s legal team in the CETA negotiations, provided advice on the design of the Green Energy Act and related WTO dispute settlement proceedings, advised on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration and on procurement issues in the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement and led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark Warner was invited to participate in a panel discussion at the Council of State Governments’ Eastern Regional Conference (CSG/ERC) 2018 Annual Meeting and Regional Policy Forum in Rye Brook, New York on the ongoing renegotiation of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). (August 6, 2018) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York 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. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade led Ontario’s legal team in the CETA negotiations, provided advice on the design of the Green Energy Act and related WTO dispute settlement proceedings, advised on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration, and on procurement issues in the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement and led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark Warner participated in Export Development Canada (EDC) Webinar about how the negotiations of an update of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) affects Canada’s Trade Confidence Index. (February 1, 2018) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York 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. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade led Ontario’s legal team in the CETA negotiations, provided advice on the design of the Green Energy Act and related WTO dispute settlement proceedings, advised on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration and on procurement issues in the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement and led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Mark Warner was invited to participate in an Ottawa Economics Association panel discussion on the Risks and Opportunities for Canada from the ongoing renegotiation of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). (October 17, 2017) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York 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. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade led Ontario’s legal team in the CETA negotiations, provided advice on the design of the Green Energy Act and related WTO dispute settlement proceedings, advised on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration, and on procurement issues in the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.