Monopolies Killed My Hometown Andrew Cameron

e30: This is going to be the last episode I do of Monopolies Killed My Hometown, thank you for listening to the podcast. In this last episode I want to bring on Keldon Bester and Robin Shaban two of the other co-founders of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project.
CAMP is growing and we need help from you and other Canadians. In this interview Keldon, Robin and I talk about the background of CAMP, and how you can get involved in the Anti-Monopoly Movement and with CAMP.
Follow CAMP on all the socials, sign up for the CAMP Newsletter, and reach out for a conversation.
Again - thank you for listening. Thank you to Connor and the rest of the Podstarter.io team for producing and help develop this podcast.

e29: In this week's episode I look at a lot of the great things happening in the anti-monopoly world currently. There appears to be a sea-change towards monopolies and consolidated power occurring. It's small, it's fragile, it could be the start of something big, or big business could fight back and stamp it. I know how I want the future to play out, I just can't say exactly how things will go. In that spirit, I want to acknowledge and celebrate the wins and successes we're having so far.
Links from today's episode:
e09: The Efficiencies Defense - Let's Not Keep It.CAMP's breakdown of bills to amend The Competition ActFuture of Canada's Competition Policy Consultation – What We Heard Report

e28: In this episode we're looking at two topics - the Canning Industry in the 1930's and more on the Rogers/Shaw merger.  We're going to start with the investigation the Price Spreads Commission did into the canning industry in the 1930s. This section has everything we've looked at so far in this podcast - mass buyers, high shipping costs, vertical integration, secret rebates, side deals, people and farmers getting screwed. All of it seems to come together in the canning industry.
The second half we're going to look at the Rogers/Shaw merger again. Turns out that Videotron has gone back to the Federal government to ask Rogers to fulfill their obligations from the divestiture. We're not even 6 months out from the merger! Second, the Competition Tribunal has awarded Rogers/Shaw about $13 million in costs. We need to pay Rogers/Shaw $13 million. WOW! The Tribunal also said Commissioner Matthew Boswell was unreasonable. I have many thoughts on the Tribunal's ruling.
Links:
Timeline of Rogers-Shaw dealQuebecor asks industry minister to intervene in dispute with Rogers over MVNO ratesTribunal's cost ruling in Rogers-Shaw case

e27:  Apologies on this delayed episode. I was on holiday and didn't get this pulled together before I went away. This episode we're back to the Royal Commission on Price Spreads and their analysis of the Agricultural Implement Industry - basically, tractors, combines, and other farming equipment. Unsurprisingly, the Commission found there was only 3 major equipment dealers and they were extracting excess profits out of the Farmer's. This either drove up food costs or drove farms out of business. 
I argue that manufacturers are extracting excess profits out of farmers today. One way is by not allowing farmers to fix their own equipment.  Did you know that a farmer can break copyright law by fixing their own tractor? Weird, huh? This also applies to the rest of us when we try to fix cars, cell phones, tvs, appliances and other consumer items.  These excess profits eventually end up being paid by us at the grocery store. The 'Right-to-Repair' movement is pushing hard to fix this and let farmers and people fix their own equipment and goods. 
Links from this episode:
Farmers seeking 'right to repair' rules to fix their own tractors gain White House allyFarmers need right to repair their own equipmentJohn Deere commits to letting farmers repair their own equipment (kind of)We Cant's Let John Deere Destroy the Concept of OwnershipHere's One Reason US Military Can't Repair Its Own EquipmentLearn About Right to Repair - ISED and the Competition BureauCanadian Equipment Dealers Asked to be Exempt from Right to Repair

Welcome back to more real estate discussions. This week we are talking about unfair access to capital and how I suspect it is contributing to our unaffordable housing crisis in Canada. We've set up a system in Canada where the largest real estate players have the ability to access more capital and cheaper capital than smaller real estate developers. Capital is one of the largest barriers to entry into the development industry. is a similar dynamic to independent retailers trying to compete with the dominant retailers like Wal-Mart, LoBlaws, Amazon and so on. I dive into two rule changes that we made that allow REITs to grow into the dominant landlords they are, and how I see it has attracted capital in to our largest centers and left rural areas behind.
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Links from today's episode:
Real Estate Investment Trusts in CanadaCanadian REITsOne study said happiness peaked at $75,000 in income. Now, economists say its higher - by a lot.

I planned on moving on to a different topic, but I'm going to stick with housing for now. Last week I looked at concentration in the building supply industry and how it could increase cost of housing. This week I'm looking at concentration in the real estate development industry and that potential impact on the supply of housing. CMHC issued their report in 2022 and said we need to build 5.8 million new homes by 2030, we were on pace to build 2.3 million and need to add on another 3.5 million homes. My question is who is going to build those homes? 
The short answer is always the generic 'private sector'. Housing is challenging to look at from a Competition Bureau perspective because so much is done at the Municipal level. Plus it's hard to define the competitive market. Does Toronto real estate compete with Ottawa? What about Halifax and Dartmouth? But I think the Municipalities and Provinces can and should look at the market dynamics of their development industries and act to increase the capacity of their real estate development industries by acting to encourage new entrants. And the Federal Government has their own ways they can act to increase supply of housing.
Error from the episode: It was Upton Sinclair, not Ralph Waldo Emerson who said "it's hard to get a man to understand something their wallet depends on them not understanding."
Links from episode:
We're all to blame for Canada's brutal housing marketSocial Housing Construction Graphe24 on housingCMHC Housing PortalDe Beers Market ShareA Democratic Vision for Antitrust