The Competition Tribunal’s ruling in favour of the Commissioner of Competition in its abuse of dominance case against the Toronto Real Estate Board may not be the nail in the coffin many intially had thought.

"TREB has been advised by its legal counsel that they have received a lengthy confidential document containing the Competition Tribunal's decision in the matter of TREB vs. Competition Bureau,” John DiMichele, CEO of the Toronto Real Estate Board, told REP via email. “At this time we understand that no order has been issued and that the Tribunal has only partially granted the Bureau’s Application. 

“The Tribunal has also asked that both parties provide input to remedies.”

In May 2011, the Commissioner opened the drawn-out war by filing an application with the Tribunal that claimed TREB was being anti-competitive by imposing restrictions that prevent Realtors from posting certain information from the MLS on their personal websites, REP reported in July 2014.

The Tribunal has not yet released its reasoning for siding with the Commissioner.

Some have speculated that the ruling may force TREB to make its sold data public, or potentially face repercussions, but with TREB able to provide its own “remedies” to the situation, that is far from a guarantee at this point.