Competition Bureau accusation of gasoline collusion in Quebec

I want the Competition Bureau of Canada to disclose transcripts and tapes of the telephone conversations from their recent investigations of alleged gasoline cartels in Quebec. Without seeing their actual proof, I will not accept that a true cartel existed or at least one that warranted paying civil servants to stop. The way I figure, the cheapest and honest way of intervening is with threatening to release the proof as soon as it is discovered — not with a lengthy government investigation where some divine judgement is handed down from on high. Some people may think otherwise. Nevertheless, it warms my heart to read this:

The Competition Bureau devotes considerable resources to investigating allegations that competitors have engaged in price-fixing, also referred to as cartel activity.

Cartels are not stable. For any hypothetical cartel, each member can always profit by cheating, under-cutting and breaking the cartel. It makes no sense to think they can be a real threat to the consumer for any considerable length of time. Furthermore, there is nothing morally wrong with one retailer calling to find out the price of a competitor particularly when the goal is to under-cut his price. Just placing a telephone call is not proof that collusion occurred to raise prices. I have not found transcripts anywhere on the Bureau’s website or elsewhere on the internet. If somebody can direct me, I would be much obliged.

Blaming rising prices on cartels is too easy and getting governments to intervene can be foolhardy. In fact, government threats and interventions may contribute to anti-competitive behavior in the market and make things worse for the consumer. The Bureau offers immunity to retailers who participate in the investigations — that can actually subvert competition in the market by pitting one retailer against an other. To illustrate, an evil-retailer can instigate the formation of a cartel and rope his unsuspecting competitors into a trap. Once the cartel is rolling, the evil-retailer gets immunity after informing the bureau of a cartel in his local market.

So, at the end of the day, if one of these alleged cartel gas stations in Quebec goes out of business as a result of these penalties, I doubt the consumer will be better off — but his competitors will certainly be happy. Will the taxes spent in this investigation be a worthwhile investment? I doubt it.