Do Not Pass Go with Peter Nowak

It’s an understatement to say the world is in turmoil. Riots and protests have broken out in Europe. War rages in Ukraine and the Middle East. Incumbent governments are being booted left and right. Numerous countries are backsliding into authoritarianism.

None of this is surprising, according to Isabella Weber, an economist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In her new book – Anti-Fascist Economics: In Defense of Affordability, Dignity, and Democracy – she lays out how we got here.

In a nutshell, traditional neoliberalist economics that encourage market concentration and political subordination to those markets means economies are no longer working for the average person. This is a dangerous development, because it pushes people to extremist solutions.

Weber joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast to discuss where we’re at, and more importantly, how to course correct so that markets can once again work for people, rather than the other way around.

For more on her book, click here.

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Way back in what now seems like ancient history, in 2024, the antitrust movement was picking up steam around the world.

U.S. competition authorities had launched a wave of cases against dominant companies while their Canadian counterparts were celebrating hard-fought battles to strengthen laws and budgets with the intention of doing the same.

But then Donald Trump took office for the second time and that momentum stopped.

High-profile U.S. cases against the likes of Google, Facebook and Live Nation fizzled and the Paramount-Warner Bros. mega-merger went through, while the Canadian government pivoted to focusing on sovereignty.

With the U.S. mid-terms just a few weeks away and the Democrats looking to take back control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate, it’s worth asking what sort of effect – if any – the impending flip will have on antitrust.

If Trump is reined in, will competition enforcement be back on the menu in the U.S.? And if Congress can staunch some of the hostility the U.S. is showing towards its supposed allies, can those countries – including Canada – get back to focusing on their own internal issues?

Here to answer those questions is David Dayen, executive editor of American Prospect and co-host of the Organized Money podcast.

David is an expert on U.S. antitrust and, while he’s not currently optimistic about the state of competition enforcement right now, he does believe that a Democrat win could blunt some of the current administration’s worst excesses.

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There’s a significant battle brewing over the direction of Canada, and a humble can of peas is at the tip of it.

Earlier this summer, the Competition Bureau announced it was challenging an attempt by Quebec-based food processor Nortera to acquire canned and frozen vegetable brands Green Giant and Le Sieur from New Jersey-based B&G Foods.

The competition watchdog said the deal was a merger to monopoly that would give Nortera 90 per cent of the canned vegetable market and 80 per cent in frozen, which would lead to higher prices for consumers. The company said the deal was necessary to protect its business and Canada’s food safety against cheaper imports.

As reported here, Nortera managed to convince the federal government of that argument, leading to tariffs being placed on imports and a review of the market by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. That body last month ruled that imports were indeed harming domestic processors, and that tariffs were justified.

Though Nortera and B&G abandoned their deal earlier this month, the case highlighted the differing priorities – and the growing conflict – between the Competition Bureau and the federal government.

On the one hand, the Bureau is applying new powers and funding that took years to acquire in protecting markets and consumers from abuses of dominance. On the other hand, the government is fighting a trade war and backing transactions that solidify sovereignty.

Former competition commissioner John Pecman – now an advisor at Fasken’s law firm – is among those who has recognized this growing disconnect in consumer and industrial policies.

In a new piece for the C.D. Howe Institute, he says the conflict isn’t necessary and that Canada will be better served by closer co-ordination between the government and the Competition Bureau.

Pecman joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast to discuss how this could work, including the introduction of a mechanism that would allow cabinet ministers to veto merger challenges by the watchdog when it comes to sectors designated as nationally sensitive.

Read his intelligence memo here.

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Website crashes, interminable queues, a rash of fees that are climbing higher and higher… it sounds like we’re talking about concert tickets, right?

The comparison is apt, according to Cameron Fenton. In a recent investigation for The Walrus, the B.C.-based travel and outdoors journalist looked into Camis Inc., the “Ticketmaster of camping” that controls the biggest and most popular campsite reservation systems in Canada.

Besides this being a market dominance story, it’s also a sovereignty issue. Despite originating in Canada, Camis is now U.S.-owned and is pulling millions out of federal and provincial parks – money that Fenton says could be reinvested to meet growing demand.

He joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast to explain why it may be time to repatriate Canada’s camping booking systems and break one company’s dominance.

Read Fenton’s article here.

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Don’t look now – Do Not Pass Go is officially one year old!

It’s hard to believe we’re already at this point when it feels like just yesterday that we thought it might be a good idea to shine a spotlight on Canada’s competition problems. But here we are. Woohoo!

It’s been an incredibly busy year, and certainly one with no shortage of news or issues to cover. This is our 126th post and our 53rd podcast, and we’re only just getting started. Literally!

In this week’s episode, we go over some of the highlights from the past year and share exciting updates on the future of Do Not Pass Go… you’ll definitely want to watch or listen for all the goodies, but here’s a bit of a spoiler: We’re growing fast and expanding soon, and we’ve got a rebrand in the works.

Plus, we’ve got Arshy Mann – co-founder of The Hatchet newsletter and podcast, whose monopoly series on Canadaland was one of the main inspirations for Do Not Pass Go.

He’s back for another state-of-the-competition-union conversation, where we cover everything from airport privatization to consumer protection to whether the federal Liberals have a governing monopoly in Canada. Check out this pulse-pounding, super special episode – and don’t forget to subscribe!

Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

The federal government introduced changes this week to labour rights through Bill C-39 that may make it harder for workers to strike, but it’s perhaps not even the most pertinent matter when it comes to employee rights.

Despite being unenforceable in many jurisdictions and even illegal in others, non-compete clauses that restrict workers from switching jobs or starting their own businesses are rampant – and they’re on the rise. And Canadians have it especially bad.

A study of 15 countries released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development this summer showed that Canada had the second highest prevalence of non-compete contracts, after only Spain.

And while such restrictions originally applied only to high-ranking executives who might possess trade secrets, these clauses are rapidly expanding down the corporate ladder to even the lowest-ranking employees. Court cases in Canada have involved everyone from seasonal window washers to tattoo artists.

Dan Andrews, head of the growth, competitiveness and regulation division in the OECD’s economics department and author of the report, joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast to discuss how these restrictions are holding back economic growth by depressing wages, innovation and business creation.

Check out the full OECD study here.

Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Canadian films account for only a small part of the overall Canadian box office, but they also make a disproportionate percentage of their money through independent cinemas. In fact, many earn their entire take through theatres that aren’t Cineplex or Landmark.

In other words, if we’re talking about sovereignty – and Canadians making Canadian film is certainly part of that discussion – then we have to talk about independent cinemas and how important they are to the national fabric. It’s a poignant subject, with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s investment summit and the Toronto International Film Festival intersecting this week.

A new report by the Network of Independent Cinema Exhibitors (NICE) – an association that represents 150 theatres across the country – lays out the challenges that independent theatres are facing, and how they’re often coming into conflict with anti-competitive practices by Cineplex and large distributors.

From exclusive zones that prevent indies from showing movies to so-called clean-run demands that require them to play films for weeks at a time, these practices mean less room for Canadian-produced cinema at a time when demand for it may be at an all-time high.

NICE founder and director Sonya Yokota William joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast to discuss the barriers that are holding Canadian films back, and how they could be removed.

NICE’s report on “Market Access Barriers” can be found here, while the Canadian Movie Marketplace is here.

Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Gander Social officially opened its doors to the public this summer, finally inviting everyone in to try out the promise of the most Canadian of experiences: a kindler, gentler social media app. The sort where, rather than insults and trolls, users are more likely to apologize to each other, eh?

But Gander is more of a canary than a goose, so to speak, in that it’s in the proverbial coal mine. With sovereignty being built into its technological infrastructure and operating ethos from the ground up, it’s an experiment into whether it’s possible to build a fully Canadian startup.

As Canada’s trade war with the United States heats up and lakes get renamed, it’s no surprise that all eyes are on Gander to see if it can successfully chart a different course.

Founder and chief executive Ben Waldman returns to Do Not Pass Go for our very special 50th episode to talk about the progress his team has made and what challenges remain. He also tells us why pet photos do better on Gander than contentious news stories.

And, as part of our 50th episode celebration, check out our special deal on tickets to Rogers v. Rogers, the hit one-man play based on the book about the cable giant’s succession drama and takeover of Shaw Communications.

The show returns to Toronto this fall and we’ll be recording a very special live podcast episode – with playwright Michael Healey and Globe and Mail reporter Alexandra Posadzki, who wrote the book the play is based on – on Nov. 20.

Head to Canadian Stage at this link and use promo code DONOTPASSGO for discounted pricing to the show and taping, but hurry as tickets are limited!

Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Have you noticed that even run-of-the-mill products and services are now expensive? Whether it’s a car or a concert ticket or even just a loaf of bread, regular items that were priced regularly just a few years ago are now being sold as luxuries.

It’s no accident, according Eemaan Khan, a Canadian expat working as a strategy director at ExecCap Advisors in Chicago. It’s the product of a lack of competition across sectors, which is allowing providers to get away with charging exorbitant prices on thoroughly mid products.

The concept is known as “premium mediocre,” coined by management consultant Venkatesh Rao in 2017, and refers to products, services and experiences that use marketing, aesthetics and false luxury to make average, everyday things premium.

Canada – and Canadians – are particularly ripe for it, Khan recently wrote on his Make Canada Think Harder newsletter, because of a conditioned aversion to risk and failure. It’s a feedback loop that prevents competition from happening, which in turn keeps pricing going up and acceptable standards on what we’re being sold going down.

He joins the Do Not Pass Go to discuss premium mediocre and how Canadians can shake their penchant for accepting middling results at high costs.

Check out Khan’s newsletter here.

Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

In June, the Yukon government wrote angry letters to Bell, the CRTC and the federal government to complain about poor and degrading wireless service in the territory. It’s not the first time elected officials have resorted to doing so – the territory’s premier penned a similar missive two years ago.

The continuing problems suggest the pleas for improvement are not being answered. For its part, Bell – which holds a virtual monopoly over fibre and wireless networks in Yukon – says the economics don’t make sense. The regulator and feds don’t appear to be helping much, yet.

At a time when more eyes are on arctic security and wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity, the ongoing connectivity crisis in the North can no longer be ignored – it’s a problem that needs to be addressed urgently.

Jennifer Gehmair, the Yukon minister of Economic Development, Tourism and Culture, joins Do Not Pass Go to discuss how the competitive situation in the territories – or rather the lack of it – means that different solutions involving government and regulators are needed in everything from telecom services to grocery availability.

Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.