Price-fixing case: Canada Bread says Maple leaf used it as ‘shield’ [Video]

Canada Bread is accusing Maple Leaf Foods of using it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged bread price-fixing scheme that’s the subject of two class-action lawsuits and an ongoing Competition Bureau investigation.

In filings in an Ontario court as part of one of the class action cases, Canada Bread alleges Maple Leaf broke the law and breached its management agreements.

Maple Leaf was the controlling shareholder of Canada Bread up until Grupo Bimbo bought the company in 2014.

Canada Bread is so far the only company to be fined by the Competition Bureau in relation to the alleged scheme, taking a $50-million hit in 2023 after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing bread products under the Competition Act.

Canada Bread admitted to arranging with Weston Foods, then a George Weston subsidiary, to increase prices on a variety of packaged bread products, resulting in two price increases.

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