March 3, 2014
It seems to me that competition law issues are in the media a lot more over the past few years. And so they should be (ok that’s my, slightly, biased view as a competition lawyer), given that competition affects virtually every decision Canadian consumers make – from buying groceries, to filling up the car, to cell phone plans to choice of where to buy their beer (a recent bugaboo for me of late, the liquor retailing debate).
On the theme of consumers and competition, earlier today CBC published what I thought was a very good comment by Peter Nowak on the perceived increased shift toward consumers by the Canadian Competition Bureau (see: Competition Bureau Taking More Consumer-Friendly Stance).
While I thought this new article was quite good indeed (it discusses recent Bureau cases, competition advocacy efforts, the new Commissioner of Competition and Conservatives’ recent consumer focused-efforts), in some ways I thought the flurry of Canadians’ comments in the half day the article had been published more interesting yet. The some 200+ comments are quite a good impromptu reflection of what Canadians obviously care most about when it comes to competition.
In reading through the comments, the following seem to be some of the top concerns when it comes to competition and competition law enforcement:
1. Crown corporations (particularly, whether they should continue to be permitted to compete with the private sector).
2. Gas prices (a perennial annoyance it seems for Canadians).
3. Whether the Competition Bureau is doing enough or is focused on the right industries.
4. Whether more regulation yet is needed in some sectors (e.g., wireless).
5. “Country pricing” (which the current federal government has indicated it would tackle, question being whether any country pricing rules, if passed, could be effectively enforced).
6. Marketing boards (i.e., why markets still aren’t allowed to operate in some sectors).
7. Consumer disclosure issues (e.g., wireless charges, credit, auto warranties).
8. Stocking allowances (i.e., competition on supermarket shelves).
9. More competition in key industries (e.g., lawyers and the “billable rate”, gas prices, real estate services and access to MLS data, wireless disclosure, roaming rates, etc.).
10. Concentrated markets (i.e., why some markets remain protected, or largely protected).
All in all, I thought the comment trail for this article was rather fascinating and also a bit of an interesting contrast between how industry participants (lawyers, enforcers, politicians, etc.) sometimes see competition and Canadian consumers.
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