Competition watchdog calls for 'vigorous enforcement' to combat rising prices

The federal competition watchdog said in a speech this week that Canada needs tomodernize its competition laws and chase down companies that collude to jack up prices.

Competition commissioner Matthew Boswell made the case for competition policy as a way to bring down consumer prices in Canada, where shopping for groceries and pumping gas has become a way of life.

Boswell said at the May 26 event that less competition makes matters worse. It deters business conduct that could cause inflation to go up.

Boswell said in his speech that the Competition Bureau was trying to block the Shaw takeover.

Boswell said that the Competition Bureau will crack down on companies that use rising inflation as a ruse to raise prices.

Boswell is one of the key advocates for changes to Canada's competition rules. Boswell said that the movement sprung out of concerns over the rise of corporate titans in Canada. The fight to reform competition law is being framed as a battle between progressives and those who want to maintain the status quo.

He said on May 26 that many of you know where he is. We have to adapt. Our economic future as a country demands it.

Boswell's public criticisms of the law have become so bold that one Toronto lawyer recently called him a cowboy commissioner. He said in his speech that Canada's competition law could be doing more to reduce inflation.

Competition must be part of the solution to address the rising cost of living.

Statistics Canada's consumer price index report found that inflation spiked in April, the largest year-over-year increase since 1991. Inflation hasn't been this bad since the early 1980s. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre has a staff lawyer named Tahira Dawood.

She said in a panel discussion that they need to know more about the Competition Bureau's plan.

The Competition Act was amended as part of the federal government's budget announcement in April. The amendments were tabled as part of the budget bill in 2022.

The government had been facing calls to get tougher on wage fixing since the early days of the Pandemic.

The bureau declined to investigate the case, a move that many, including a former competition commissioner, saw as an example of the law's blindspot when it comes to workers.

The budget bill changes will be followed by more sweeping reforms to the act.

Boswell said that if we do this right, we can keep growing. Competition can be stifled by anti-competitive behavior or regulatory impediments. And suffer for years in the future as a result.

Brandon Schaufele, an associate professor at Western University, warned against packing too many objectives into a single piece of policy during the panel discussion.

Competition law can't solve all problems in Canadian society or the Canadian economy. When we want to promote competition, we may chill investment.

Robin Shaban, a former officer at the Competition Bureau and senior economist at the economic consulting firm, said that keeping the act the way it is will work.

Email: jedmiston@postmedia.com