The rapid spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing
significant dislocation to every aspect of our daily lives. For
businesses, COVID-19, and the public health responses being taken
to try to limit its spread, will have a significant financial
impact. Social distancing and self-isolation will result in fewer
customers visiting brick-and-mortar retailers, and uncertain
economic times will result in an overall drop in consumer demand.
Each of these will cause pain for businesses.
In these circumstances, many businesses will feel the impulse to
take unprecedented steps to stay afloat. While it's natural to
want to take new and creative steps to preserve one's business,
it's important that Canadian businesses remain vigilant to
ensure that their conduct remains onside Canada's Competition Act. While
anti-competitive conduct might seem to provide a short-term fix to
a negative business climate, the longer-term consequences of
anti-competitive conduct will
