Economic damage mounts from failure to fight anti-competitive business practices

Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell’s latest report says the current state of the grocery business hurts consumers and does not drive companies to lower their prices.

A relic of the 1980s when policymakers felt bigger was better for the Canadian economy, our version of anti-trust policy has over the years reduced competition and allowed concentration to take place across the business sector, writes Les Whittington. Photograph courtesy of Pexels

Opinion

BY LES WHITTINGTON

July 5, 2023

OTTAWA—Last fall, with Canadians up in arms over grocery prices that were increasing at the fastest rate in 40 years, Ottawa’s competition watchdog set out to examine whether the high prices resulted from lack of competition in this highly concentrated retail sector—an...

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