The Competition Bureau went head to head with Canada’s two largest cable companies, Rogers and Shaw, at the Competition Tribunal on Monday, arguing that the recently proposed sale of Freedom Mobile to Quebecor’s Videotron would weaken the carrier and avoid dealing with the issues the antitrust agency has over the merger.

The sale was proposed in June by Rogers and Shaw to address concerns the Competition Bureau had about the impact their merger would have on competition. The antitrust agency is asking the  Competition Tribunal to block the $26-billion takeover, arguing that it will result in higher prices, poorer service and fewer choices for consumers.

During an opening statement, John Tyhurst, the lead lawyer for the Competition Bureau, said that the merger would take out a “disruptive competitive player.” 

Kent Thomson, the lead lawyer for Shaw, replied by saying that the bureau’s case is based on serious misapprehensions of facts and law, and that if the deal is blocked, “millions of ordinary Canadians” would lose, and the “only winners would be Bell and Telus.”

Over the next few weeks, the bureau will call witnesses and present its case first while Rogers and Shaw, as well as Vidéotron, will respond. The battle is expected to last at least four weeks.

Rogers-Shaw lawyers had previously requested that a verdict be issued by the end of this year, saying a delay would pose financial risks to the companies. However, this date is unlikely to be achieved.

“It will be difficult to get a decision within the time frame that respondents have requested,” chief justice Paul Crampton said in his opening remarks.