Court documents released this week allege that a price-fixing deal for bread began more than 10 years ago with a presentation at an industry meeting by an official of Canada Bread, then owned by Maple Leaf Foods.
The judge handling the case, brought by the federal Competition Bureau, has agreed with the informant to keep his or her identity and sex secret.
This person, which the Globe and Mail calls Person X, “was going to the retailers to get their buy-in for a price increase with the goal of orchestrating alignment through the retail community,” the documents say.
The Weston company, which controls both Weston’s Bread and Loblaws and a number of related supermarket chains, has admitted its participation in the scheme and has offered shoppers $25 gift cards in return for promises not to participate in any class-action lawsuits.
Maple Leaf sold Canada Bread to Bimbo Bakery of Mexico and the alleged price-fixing ended soon after that sale.
