The Federal Court has granted the Competition Bureau a second order to progress a probe into the conduct of the Quebec Professional Association for Real Estate Brokers and its subsidiary Société Centris.
The probe concerns real estate data sharing restrictions as the bureau continues to investigate whether the QPAREB engaged in practices that weaken competition in the real estate brokerage services market or hinder the development of innovative online brokerage services in the province, violating the abuse of dominance restrictive trade practices provisions of the Competition Act.
The bureau claimed it required more information to grasp the context around the practices and their impact on competition. Per the court order, QPAREB must provide records of its relationships with business partners and data regarding real estate transactions in Quebec.
The association, a non-profit association of over 14,000 real estate brokers and agencies, oversees the multiple listing service, collating Quebec real estate transaction data, which Quebec real estate brokers use. The system is inaccessible to the public.
The Competition Bureau obtained the first court order related to the investigation on February 15, 2023. Under this order, QPAREB was required to produce records and written information relevant to the investigation.
On February 20, 2023, the association released a statement that it was cooperating with the investigation.
“Respect for the rule of law is paramount and we believe that our practices comply with applicable regulations,” said Marc Lacasse, then-president of the QPAREB board of directors, in the statement.
Last November, the Competition Bureau obtained court orders to investigate Broadridge Software Limited and its affiliates. In June 2024, the Federal Court issued a second court order allowing the bureau to advance its probe into potentially false or misleading claims made by Amazon through its reviews and ratings system. In line with the Amazon investigation, the bureau released a consumer alert with tips to help Canadians identify and avoid fake reviews.