The Honourable Konrad W. von Finckenstein, C.M., K.C. was appointed Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner on March 5, 2024, for a seven-year term. He served as Commissioner for six months on an interim basis from August 2023 to February 2024.
Before his appointment, he worked as a consultant on communications, competition and trade matters, and as an arbitrator of commercial disputes.
During a career in the public service that began in 1973, he has held senior positions and acquired broad experience in the areas of trade, commercial, competition and communications law. He served as Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM), Business Law in the Department of Justice, Commissioner of Competition, Judge of the Federal Court, and Chair of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
As ADM, Business Law, he was responsible for all commercial law activity of the Government of Canada. He also negotiated the dispute settlement provisions of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and was responsible for implementation of both the FTA and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into Canadian law.
As Commissioner of Competition, he oversaw the merger of Air Canada and Canadian Airlines and the attempted merger of Canada’s four largest banks, and was the founding Chair of the International Competition Network. He also imposed the largest fine for price collusion in Canadian criminal history.
As a judge of the Federal Court of Canada, he rendered over 200 written judgements in administrative law, intellectual property and human rights. He also chaired a NAFTA chapter 19 Extraordinary Challenge Committee on Magnesium Dumping.
As Chair of the CRTC, he led the commission in largely deregulating the telecom sector. Major decisions included adopting policies on net neutrality, diversity of voices in broadcasting, vertical integration of communication companies, and group licensing for broadcasters. He also introduced arbitration under the auspices of the CRTC for disputes between broadcasters and distributors.
Independence
