Competition Bureau obtains court order to advance an investigation into Dye & Durham's business practices

November 7, 2024 - GATINEAU, QC, Competition Bureau

The Competition Bureau obtained a court order to gather information and advance an ongoing investigation into alleged anti-competitive conduct by Dye & Durham Limited. Dye & Durham provides conveyancing software to assist legal practitioners with the buying, selling, and financing of residential real estate.

The order, granted by the Federal Court, requires Dye & Durham to produce records and written information that are relevant to the Bureau's investigation of whether the company is engaging in conduct contrary to the restrictive trade practices provisions of the Competition Act, including abuse of a dominant position.

The Bureau is looking to determine if the alleged anti-competitive conduct is harming competition in Canada's conveyancing software industry. This includes examining certain practices that may prevent competing conveyancing software firms from supplying products or services to legal practitioners.

There is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time.

Seeking information from the public

The Bureau is also inviting market participants - users of conveyancing software, competitors of conveyancing software and providers of complementary software - to share their experiences by emailing conveyancingsoftware-logicielsdetransfert@cb-bc.gc.ca. The feedback will help the Bureau assess if Dye & Durham's conduct raises issues under the law. All the information received will be thoroughly reviewed and considered, and will be kept confidential, subject to certain exceptions.