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Thursday, November 05, 2009
Government: Saving us from the Horrors of the Farmers' Market
So how's that "conservative" thing working out for you, eh?
The federal Competition Bureau has served notice to the Ottawa Farmers' Market that any informal agreements to set prices could violate Canada's new and tougher price-fixing law next March.
The Oct. 7 letter from John Pecman, the bureau's acting senior deputy commissioner, to market vendors comes after the Citizen reported on Sept. 27 that some farmers charge more for their fresh produce at the Lansdowne market than at other markets where they also have stalls.
Gerry Rochon, a farmer from Edwards who is vice-president of the Ottawa Farmers' Market, said some vendors used to have "friendly discussions" among themselves to agree on prices -- but those days are over as a result of the Competition Bureau warning.
[...]
However, next March the law will make it a criminal offence for competitors, or potential competitors, to agree or arrange to fix prices, allocate markets or restrict output, and such agreements will be illegal whether or not they actually injure competition.
Posted by PUBLIUS on November 5, 2009 | Permalink
Comments
However, next March the law will make it a criminal offence for competitors, or potential competitors, to agree or arrange to fix prices, allocate markets or restrict output, and such agreements will be illegal whether or not they actually injure competition.
Posted by PUBLIUS on November 5, 2009
Lets see if its used against the oil company's.
Posted by: The Stig | 2009-11-05 8:06:13 PM
Actually The Stig I believe that's one of the reasons they're enacting the law, previous attempts to prosecute Big Oil for price fixing have failed do the Canada's wimp competition laws.
And it SHOULD be illegal to price fix at the Farmer's Market. Besides those places are rip offs most of the time anyways. Many vendors sell for much much more there than if you just call up and buy direct any other day.
Posted by: Pete | 2009-11-05 8:27:17 PM
This has always been the law. Price fixing is price fixing and it does not matter who does it. It is illegal and injures the buyer.
Posted by: snowgirl | 2009-11-05 9:00:28 PM
There are only TWO kinds of price fixers: Government Monopolists and Consumers.
It is true that most farmers' markets charge twice or more for the same bag of potatoes or chicken breasts you would get at Superstore?
Of course. But its only your own conceit that forces you to shop at farmers' markets. There is no real force involved other than the market forces wielded by consumers, who can as easily choose NOT to buy.
But it is government coercion that forces you to pay for government "services" you may or may not use, or want to.
Only in Ottawa would the only true Price Fixer find any traction in public opinion. But even there, all they'll really accomplish is the creation of a Black Market in farm produce, after inventory disappears from the newly regulated farmers' markets.
Posted by: John Collison | 2009-11-05 10:36:09 PM
Price fixing cannot last forever. Eventually, competitors will enter the market because of outsized profits.
Posted by: Charles | 2009-11-06 8:19:22 AM
"So how's that "conservative" thing working out for you"
Uh, we *really* hate this "Dr. Phil"-speak here in the heterosexual community. Just trying to help you.
Why do you post at the blogging collectives known as The Shotgun and Dust My Broom if you're such a rugged individualist Pub? You do it because cooperation and collective action sometimes - often - makes sense. Why do you live in Canada rather than Somalia Pub? No central government there, plenty of markets without (much) government intervention, should be a utopia for you? Again, you live here because cooperation and collective action make sense. Maximizing freedom is not the end game, at least for societies that wish to persevere. The North American Indians were free and had no central government - they got run over.
Put your hand in a bucket of water Pub, pull it out, and see what happens. Nature abhors a vacuum and a "free" society would soon find itself decidedly unfree under the yoke of its conquerors.
As for the post subject, not much comment is necessary. So desperate you are to portray your affirmative action loving ass as a freedom loving liberal that you've really painted yourself into a corner on this one. Truly free markets only exist in economics labs; Canada's markets are so unfree that when the Canadian dollar surged (and the cost of imports dropped) Flaherty had to ASK Canadian companies to drop their prices, something that should have happened naturally if we had true free markets in this country.
Still waiting for you to show a fraction of the hate you have for Harper towards Obama or McGuinty, both of whom are orders of magnitude more statist.
Posted by: Publius Is Ridiculous | 2009-11-06 8:50:12 AM
Bring it on.
Posted by: Publius is Ridiculous is Ridiculous | 2009-11-06 9:16:13 AM
Lou, you can not be a free enterprise ideologue on one hand and then at the same time defend price fixing by small business owners for the lame reason that "everyone else is doing it". That is the road to hell.
Me being a woman has absolutely nothing to do with the debate. What is the matter with you anyway?
Your posts are written in a way that betrays the fact you are driven by ideology and stereotypes and not by any form of original thinking or thought.
Posted by: snowgirl | 2009-11-06 10:21:45 AM
I think the government should go further and make it illegal to grow food. Think if people didn't grow food they would have time to spend with their children and the unicorns will come back and everybody will be equal and the sky will turn pink and winter will never happen again. Global warming will be stopped and Peace will break out in the Middle East. Vote Jack Laton. He has the power to do this, just ask him.
Posted by: Doug Gilchrist | 2009-11-06 12:08:29 PM
Vote Jack Laton.
Posted by: Doug Gilchrist | 2009-11-06 12:08:29 PM
Isn't he the libertarian candidate that runs in Dildo Newfoundland?
Posted by: The Stig | 2009-11-06 12:44:26 PM
Frankly, I'd like to see this law applied to milk & milk products, eggs, pork, chicken and any other "supply managed" commodity produced in this country.
Do I believe it will? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
Posted by: po'ed in AB | 2009-11-06 1:08:20 PM
@ publius is ridiculous:
In what way are McGuinty and Obama more statist than Harper? Why do you persist in your fairy tale about Harpo and the CPC?
Harper is wrecking this country. He is off holidaying and lecturing in Asia as the Canadian economy contracts and job losses pile up.
HE is the "economist", HE is the author of the coming generations of debt, high taxes and high interest rates Canadians face.
Spell it out, dude: how is Harpo less statist than any other neokeynesian social democratic despot out there today?
Posted by: John Collison | 2009-11-06 1:09:40 PM
For the last time children:
Conservative Party: in no way shape or form conservative anymore. Run by a criminal who broke his own law.
Liberal Party: Who the hell knows what they stand for at the moment.
NDP aka The communist party of Canada
Green Party: Hug a tree buy environmentally friendly products so we can make more money
Libertarian Party: Want to be right-wing whack jobs without admitting they are right-wing whack jobs.
Bloc de Quebecois: Lets keep blackmailing Ottawa for money for Quebec.
Their you go, politics 101. Now I suggest you ravers (both right wing and left wing) learn what your talking about before you flap your mouth. Every time you speak you sound dumber and dumber.
Posted by: Doug Gilchrist | 2009-11-06 3:18:21 PM
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