OTTAWA — Rogers, Shaw, and the Competition Bureau have agreed to sit in front of a mediator to hash out a possible settlement on the issues involving the cable companies’ proposed merger, according to a letter dated yesterday to the Competition Tribunal.
The first scheduled mediation dates are July 4 and 5, the letter said. The process involves a neutral person assisting the disputing parties to come to a voluntary settlement of the issues. Options for that neutral person include a judicial member of the tribunal or the Federal Court, and the parties can give a preference for which person they would like.
The letter comes a week after Rogers agreed to sell Shaw’s wireless assets to Quebecor for $2.85 billion, and after the competition commissioner Matthew Boswell said the sale of Freedom would not be enough to mitigate the harm to competition that would allegedly stem from the deal.
The Competition Bureau had originally filed its request to the tribunal to block the deal. Before yesterday’s letter, the tribunal was scheduled to hold a hearing on the matter later this year.
