Canadian Pharmacy Conspiracy Charges

In Quebec, Canada, the province's pharmacy owners association and six leading drugstore chains have been convicted of conspiracy and now face fines totalling C$2 million.

The conviction came after the pharmacists pleaded guilty to fixing the prices of oral contraceptives and prescription narcotic products. In return for the guilty plea, the Quebec Superior Court has dropped conspiracy charges against seven managers of the association and the drugstore chains.

The Crown investigation into the price-fixing began in 1988, when a woman complained that the price of her contraceptives had gone up more than 16.5% in a month. A case was brought against the association and 17 pharmacies in April 1990, but in December of that year a Quebec Superior Court ruled that the section of Canada's Competition Act dealing with conspiracy constituted a violation of the federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms' guarantees of liberty.