Maple Leaf Foods asserted its innocence in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme ahead of a hearing to determine whether it will be added to an ongoing class-action lawsuit.
In a statement Wednesday, Maple Leaf said any claims that it participated in the alleged conspiracy are false.
“As we’ve said before, Maple Leaf Foods has done nothing wrong here,” the company said on its website.
When the class-action lawsuit was originally certified in an Ontario court in 2021 against several grocery retailers and other food companies, Maple Leaf was not included.
However, the plaintiffs argued at a hearing Thursday that Maple Leaf should be added as a defendant in the lawsuit because of its ownership of Canada Bread at the time of the alleged conspiracy.
Canada Bread was fined $50 million by the Competition Bureau in 2023 after admitting to four counts of price-fixing, but has argued as part of the class-action lawsuit that Maple Leaf, which was …