Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Canadian competition tribunal rules against Toronto real estate board, (Apr 29, 2016)

By Edward L. Puzzo, J.D.

The Competition Tribunal has ruled in favor of the Commissioner of Competition regarding Canada Competition Bureau claims of anticompetitive behavior by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), the Bureau has announced.

In 2011, the Bureau filed an application with the Competition Tribunal, challenging restrictions that the TREB had imposed on its members’ use and display of data in the Toronto Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, such as previous listings and previous sale prices. The restrictions on this information, the Bureau argued, hampered the ability to introduce new and innovative real estate brokerage services using the Internet.

The Tribunal’s reasons for its decision are confidential at this time; a summary of the decision is currently available on the Tribunal’s website and it is expected that a public version of the reasons will be released at a later date. A further hearing will be held before the Tribunal to determine the remedy for TREB’s anticompetitive conduct.

News: Antitrust