moved for leave to introduce Bill C-472, an act to amend the Competition Act (abuse of dominant position).
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce this bill along with my colleague, the member for Cambridge, to amend the federal Competition Act with respect to the abuse of dominant position in the marketplace, particularly by large companies.
The report of the Liberal committee on gasoline pricing called for the Competition Act to be amended to ensure a level playing field in the retail sector of Canada's oil industry and greater protection for Canadian consumers.
The Liberal committee studying the proposed bank mergers also concluded that the Competition Act needs to be strengthened.
To many observers the current act is a toothless tiger that is unable to prevent anti-competitive acts in markets that are dominated by a few large players. In the food industry four of Canada's six major grocery retailers are currently proposing mergers. Large grocery companies charge food producers high listing fees in order for their products to gain access to supermarkets. As a result, Canadian consumers have less than half—