Loblaws and parent company Weston have reached an out-of-court settlement of $500 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over a plot to hike bread prices.
Weston owned both Loblaws and Weston's Bakery at the time of the violations.
The company admitted price-fixing after the federal government filed price-fixing claims in 2015 and Loblaws distributed $25 gift cards to customers.
The other major bread company involved in the scheme was Maple Leaf Foods, at the time headed by Michael McCain; it subsequently sold its Canada Bread business to Grupo Bimbo bakery.
In June of 2023, Canada Bread agreed to pay a $50-million fine to settle its part of the bureau’s investigation, pleading guilty to involvement in the price-fixing scheme.
Parent company Grupo Bimbo, which acquired the business in 2014, acknowledged that Canada Bread had made “arrangements” with senior executives at its competitor, Weston Foods, which led to two wholesale price increases in 2007 and 2011.
Maple Leaf Foods, which owned a majority stake in Canada Bread at the time, has denied unlawful behaviour at Canada Bread while it was a shareholder.
Loblaw and George Weston have also agreed, as part of the settlement, to co-operate with the plaintiffs by providing information about the arrangements, as the lawsuits remain active against other defendants.
The Ontario case, for example, includes as defendants Canada Bread Co. Ltd., Metro Inc., Sobeys Inc., Walmart Canada and Giant Tiger Stores Ltd. Others named in the suit have denied participating in the alleged scheme.
