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.

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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.