Agency launches reporting tool citing wage fixing, anti-poaching
The Competition Bureau is hoping to put a stop to any collusive contract agreements related to the FIFA World Cup 26.
Canada will be co-hosting the football spectacle with the United States and Mexico, with some games set to be played in Toronto and Vancouver.
"The Bureau will do everything in its power to prevent Canada's host cities and taxpayers from falling victim to unscrupulous business conduct,” says Matthew Boswell, commissioner of competition. “We are determined to pursue those who seek to unjustly profit from contracts related to the World Cup."
Report collusion in 26 FIFA World Cup contracts
The Competition Bureau has launched a new reporting tool to help the public and business community report potential collusive agreements between competitors related to the big event.
Canadians can report the following types of illegal conduct:
- Competitors agreeing to fix the price of a product or service (price-fixing)
- Competitors agreeing to rig the outcome of a bidding process (bid-rigging)
- Competitors agreeing not to compete with each other (non-compete)
- Employers agreeing to fix wages (wage-fixing), or to refrain from hiring one another’s employees (no-poaching)
“Collusion undermines fair competition, threatens the integrity of markets and increases the cost and risk of doing business,” says the Competition Bureau.
“Collusion results in higher prices, poorer quality and an uneven playing field for businesses,” it adds.
Recently, the Competition Bureau issued a warning for businesses to watch out for reviews posted by their employees that don't properly disclose their relationship. Employee reviews of a company that give a false or misleading impression to consumers and do not disclose the employee’s connection to the business could be liable under the Competition Act.
FIFTA World Cup to be held in 2026
The Competition Bureau is also working with the host cities of Toronto and Vancouver “to proactively deter and detect collusion,” it says.
In June and July 2026, FIFA World Cup 26 matches will be held in 16 cities across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Six matches will be held in Toronto and seven in Vancouver.
In 2022, after being plagued with issues of worker safety in the last edition of the World Cup, FIFA launched a campaign to hire a CHRO for FIFA World Cup 26. Several corporate sponsors of FIFA World Cup 2022 called on FIFA and the Qatari government to compensate workers who suffered during tournament preparations.
