Canada’s Competition Tribunal Rejects Commissioner’s Challenge To Visa And Mastercard Rules

On July 23, 2013, the Competition Tribunal announced the result in its long-awaited decision in the Commissioner of Competition's case against Visa Canada Corporation and MasterCard International Incorporated.¹ In its first decision interpreting the new civil price maintenance provision, the tribunal concluded that the commissioner's theory of the case was not supported by the legislative history of the provision or other decisions. Because the credit card services supplied by Visa and MasterCard to their customers were not "resold," there could be no resale price maintenance contrary to section 76 of the Competition Act.

The tribunal also concluded that in the event it was incorrect in its legal analysis and the parties had engaged in price maintenance, it would not have issued the order sought by the commissioner. Rather, it concluded that a regulatory framework to address consumer concerns over credit card fees was the proper solution. In a statement, Commissioner