Mark Warner participated in a Business / Trade panel in the American Bar Association Legal Summit of the Americas webinar to discuss recent political developments and legal trends affecting business and cross-border industries during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico (July 23, 2020) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate. He was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, Research & Innovation and Consumer Services.

Mr. Warner led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations (including the Canada-EU Trade Agreement and the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement), advised on trade disputes (including the Green Energy Act and softwood lumber) and various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state. Mark led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler and on the creation of the Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, a $250 million co-investment venture capital fund. He was responsible for prosecutions under the provincial consumer protection laws and regulations (including for door to door water cooler salespeople and the introduction of the Province’s pay day lending laws).

Mark assisted a multinational pharmaceutical company in developing the legal framework for its key global pricing, licensing and distribution of anti-retroviral drugs in the face of generic competition and advised the Government of Ontario regarding various grant and loan agreements to leading global pharmaceutical companies for research, manufacture and clinical trial projects in Ontario.

Mark has provided competition and trade advice to various international institutions in Latin America including the World Bank, the OAS, the IADB and UNECLAC and has spoken at conferences in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Uruguay. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.