In 1971, Ron Basford, Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, introduced legislation to upgrade Canada's law designed to regulate certain corporate business practices that were anti-competitive; things like monopolies, misleading advertising, price-fixing and that sort of thing. Our legislation was called the Combines Investigation Act. This time the uproar came from big business.
We went to the membership to get direction on a range of provisions, and as anticipated, small business supported any measures to remove price discrimination and any form of anti-competitive behaviour that is found in the marketplace. But all the measures to restrict mergers and acquisitions that would lead to a lack of competition were not small business issues. Small firms grow organically, whereas large firms grow through mergers and acquisitions. We met with Minister Ron Basford to show where our members stood on the issues.
But to my surprise and shock, a lawyer representing a group of corporate clients visited me and said he would provide financing of $500,000 if I would lead a fight against the proposed changes to the Combines Investigation Act, in the same way I led a fight against proposed changes to the Income Tax Act. His clients were all opposed to any new regulations that would inhibit them from growing by merger or acquisition. I told him that I would rather shut the place down than take his money.
Ron Basford was replaced in 1972 by Herb Gray, the long-time MP from the Windsor area. This time, Mr. Gray called me and told me that he would never get the proposed legislation through the cabinet without small business support. My suggestion was to break up the proposed legislation into two stages, and in stage one include all the measures such as price discrimination that our members support. Then when stage two is introduced with the more controversial measures associated with mergers and acquisition, it would then be very difficult for large firms to organize any real opposition. The steam would be out of the balloon. And this is what Minister Gray did, and Canada now has modern competition legislation.
But I must say, you have to be a little masochistic to enjoy the world of competition law. Only a little more exciting than reading income tax legislation. Both excellent, however, if you have trouble sleeping at night.
Very few would believe it, but during the 1970s, federal and provincial governments lobbied the Canadian Federation of Independent Business more that we lobbied them. Once you are credible and believable, governments will always seek you out more than you will ever seek them out. Not taking corporate funding is the key to our credibility – then and now.