The antitrust regulator’s civil probe is focused on how the e-commerce giant’s policies affect vendor pricing, whether merchants can succeed on the marketplace without using its fulfillment service, and whether the platform influences shoppers to buy directly from it instead of businesses listing there. “We are cooperating with the Competition Bureau’s review and continue to work hard to support small and medium sized businesses who sell in our Canadian store—and help them grow,” said Kristin Gable, senior manager of corporate communications for Canada at Amazon. (The Logic) 

Talking point: The investigation is at an early stage—Friday’s announcement called for third-party sellers to report their experiences with Amazon—and “there is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time,” the agency said. An abuse of dominance finding can result in an order to stop the practices in question, and a fine of up to $10 million. In July 2019, the European Commission launched a similar inquiry into Amazon’s treatment of third-party sellers, and as of two months ago was reportedly preparing charges, accusing the company of using data from vendors to compete with them, including by launching private-label alternatives to their products. Meanwhile, a California court ruled Thursday that the platform can be held liable for damage from items other merchants sell through it.