Mark Warner was interviewed on Canada Talks SiriusXM 167 about how price gouging and deceptive marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic is being addressed in Canada. (May 14, 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.  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).

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. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler in the difficult context of the 2008-2009 Recession, and advised on trade negotiations and dispute settlement and on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including Huawei. 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, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation.