The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has called on the Federal Government to investigate global retailer Amazon for unfair business practices. The CFIB cites results from France where according to the European Commission, the company violated antitrust laws by using data from independent sellers of the same goods that are in its range. In particular, information was collected on price, sales volume and number of buyers.
Subsequently, all this was used to form its own pricing policy and marketing strategy. Specifically, Amazon would cut prices on certain products if it noticed competitors were behaving the same way.
An investigation into Amazon was launched last summer. On November 10, the European Commission announced that the fact of violations had been established and confirmed.
This comes at a time when Ontario Premier Doug Ford has forced the closure of most retailers in the Toronto region due to the Coronavirus plague.
French politicians, supported by businesses have created a “Christmas without Amazon” petition urging citizens to buy locally sourced Christmas gifts. The petition also wants the government to ban Amazon from opening new warehouses and provide fairer tax rules for bricks-and-mortar stores.
One can only envy how coordinated the French are against the American monopolist.
“What if similar campaigns against global corporations from the United States – Amazon, for example – were launched in Canada? After all, their services are by no means irreplaceable. In our country we have our own growing champions in the IT field that are vitally interested in them taking a leading role in the Canadian market,” said CFIB board member Larry Tessier.
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