Canada: Supreme Court shuns real estate competition spat

Canada’s Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal requested by the Toronto Real Estate Board of an earlier ruling that reports say could renew arguments that the Board abuses its market dominance.

According to repots, the TREB won its initial case, but a court ordered a second hearing of the matter. The cases was launched by the Competition Bureau that argues the Board abuses its market power by blocking its members from publishing sale prices on their websites.

Reports say the Board has about 35,000 members.

The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the lower court’s ordering of a new hearing on Thursday. In response, Competition Commissioner John Pecman released a statement arguing that “prohibiting TREB’s anticompetitive practices and allowing real estate agents to provide the services of their choice is the only way to ensure that consumers and real estate agents alike can benefit from increased competition.”

Reports did not indicate when the renewed hearing will take place. In response to the Supreme Court’s decision, the TREB said it would “continue to work to protect the personal information entrusted to it and its members by the general public, while it strives always to do what it can to ensure a highly competition environment for real estate professionals.”

Full content: Businessweek

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.