The Competition Bureau announced today that it has entered into a consent agreement with the Northwest Territories Association of Realtors (NWTAR) to address concerns with its membership practices in the real estate sector.
A Bureau investigation found that the NWTAR engaged in anti-competitive conduct by denying membership to those seeking to compete remotely with the association's existing members.
The Bureau concluded that the NWTAR's conduct was contrary to the abuse of dominance provisions of the Competition Act.
Refusing membership based on differing business models creates barriers to new forms of competition, especially services that offer consumers additional choices and fee structures that differ from traditional full-service real estate brokerage services.
NWTAR cooperated with the Bureau's investigation and signed an agreement to resolve its competition concerns. NWTAR has also granted membership to a firm that wanted to compete with NWTAR's existing members.
As part of this agreement, NWTAR will accept members by following the terms and conditions listed on their website and ensure non-discriminatory access to the market for any future competitors.
The complete agreement is available on the website of the Competition Tribunal.
The Bureau encourages anyone who suspects an individual or a business of engaging in anti-competitive activities to file a complaint.
