The federal government has limited options for dealing with allegations of inflated ticket prices at Ticketmaster, an internal document suggests.
“The legislative consumer protection instruments and powers in regard to this matter rest largely at the provincial level,” says a briefing note for Industry Minister Tony Clement. The draft note, marked secret, appears to have been prepared March 12 — more than a week after Clement announced he had asked the Competition Bureau to investigate the Ticketmaster allegations.
U.S.-based Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. has been accused of limiting primary sales of face-value tickets for events in Canada, and diverting purchasers to a subsidiary website, TicketsNow.
