Supreme Court hands down ruling in TREB v Competition Bureau

The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal from the Toronto Real Estate Board that would have prevented the numbers from being posted on password-protected webpages.

Greater Toronto Area realtors can now publish home sales data on their websites after the top court ruled against the real estate board, a case that could have sweeping implications for consumer access to real estate data across the country.

TREB’s appeal stems from a seven-year court battle that began in 2011 when the Competition Bureau challenged its policy preventing the publication of such information, arguing it impedes competition and digital innovation.

Canada’s largest real estate board, which represents more than 50,000 Ontario agents, argued at the Competition Tribunal and later the Federal Court of Appeal that posting the data would violate consumer privacy and copyright.

Both judicial bodies sided with the bureau, prompting TREB to take the fight to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Since the court won’t hear the case, lawyers say there is likely nothing TREB can to do to keep its legal battle going and the data from being posted.