My initial question was based on the fact that price-fixing is an offense under Euopean Union Law that is punishable by HEAVY fines and custodial sentencing.
This applies to a single company or distributor fixing prices with multiple resellers/retailers (eg. if BMW refused or restricted supply to dealers that discount more than a set amount) or a collective of companies agreeing prices together (eg. if Wal-Mart, Tesco, Safeway were fixing milk prices).
I know it still goes on but as a European I was suprised to see it so blatantly disclosed on a website.
British Airways recently faced a $1.7b fine over price-fixing.
Anyways, I just dug this up...
So price-fixing does seem to be Illegal under Canadian Law but only if it 'unreasonably' enhances prices.
That just leaves the courts to decide what is 'unreasonable'
Competition Act, R.S.C. 1985, ch. C-34 (1985) (Canada)
A conspiracy to enhance unreasonably the price of a product (“pricefixing”)
is one of the criminal provisions listed under Part VI of the Competition Act:
45. (1) Every one who conspires, combines, agrees or
arranges with another person
(a) to limit unduly the facilities for transporting,
producing, manufacturing, supplying, storing or
dealing in any product,
(b) to prevent, limit or lessen, unduly, the
manufacture or production of a product or to
enhance unreasonably the price thereof,
(c) to prevent or lessen, unduly, competition in the
production, manufacture, purchase, barter, sale,
storage, rental, transportation, or supply of a
product, or in the price of insurance on persons or
property, or
(d) to otherwise restrain or injure competition
unduly, is guilty of an indictable offence and
liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
five years or to a fine not exceeding ten millions
dollars or to both.
(man I really should get back to work!
)
.