PRICING FIXING IN CANADA

Sylvain Toutant, head of Quebec’s liquor board Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), has asked Crown corporation to lead an internal investigation over possible price-fixing between SAQ and European wine suppliers. Sylvain’s request comes as a response to allegations that several of the liquor board’s suppliers are a part of a price fixing scheme. Apparently, some board members recommended that certain suppliers inflate their prices as a way to prevent the strong Canadian dollar from translating into a drop in retail prices and consequently a profit drop for the liquor board. Two SAQ VPs, Laurent Meriaux and Alain Proteau, were reportedly asked to stay home until the inquiry was complete. The investigation is expected to come to a close by the end of January, and the results will be made public.