A small mention in the federal budget has Canada’s competition lawyers all abuzz about what changes the government will actually make to the Competition Act—and if changes are even necessary.

In the recently delivered budget, Canada’s Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, announced there would be legislative amendments to the Competition Act as “a preliminary step” in the planned modernization of the competition regime. Last fall, a senator kicked off serious discussions about the future of the act when he released a consultation paper examining the Competition Act in the digital age. In response, the minister who oversees competition law in Canada announced a review of the act was under way.