NDP's Singh to champion bill aimed at tamping down corporate powers

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will kick off the fall sitting by tabling a bill aimed at empowering Canada's Competition Bureau to tamp down corporate powers and practices such as price gouging, CTV News has learned.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will kick off the fall sitting by tabling a bill aimed at empowering Canada's Competition Bureau to tamp down corporate powers and practices such as price gouging, CTV News has learned.

On Monday, when the House of Commons resumes for the first time since June, Singh will be tabling a private members' bill called the "Lowering Prices for Canadians Act" that a senior source in his office said will be the party leader's priority.

The bill seeks to make changes to Canada's Competition Act in three main ways, the source said:

The source, speaking on a not-for-attribution basis, told CTV News that the bill seeks to respond to recommendations made by the Competition Bureau—an independent law enforcement agency focused on protecting and promoting competition in Canada—as well as the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project. 

Singh has had his sights set on wealthy corporations in Canada and the powers they wield throughout his tenure, but in his speech to the NDP caucus last week, he specifically pledged to fight "greedy CEOs."

"We all know corporate greed is causing inflation, and that's what we need to fight. People get angry when they see how hard it is for them to get by, while others are living better than ever…. When I talk to people who are angry about the cost of living, it makes me want to work harder for them, and to make Ottawa work for them instead of the rich and the powerful," Singh said to applause on Sept. 6.

Private members' bills (PMBs) are sponsored by an MP and move through the House in the same way as government legislation, but on a different schedule.