Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Probe underway into bread price-fixing

The Bureau of Competition Policy exercised search warrants this week to enter offices of Loblaws, Metro and Wal-Mart looking for evidence of price-fixing bread and packaged baked goods.

Competition Bureau spokeswoman Marie-France Faucher said the bureau is "conducting searches related to a criminal investigation into allegations of anti-competitive conduct contrary to the conspiracy provision of the Competition Act."

The Ontario Superior Court granted search warrants based on evidence that there are reasonable grounds to believe some individuals and companies have engaged in anti-competitive activities, she said.

"Bureau officers are conducting searches and are gathering evidence to determine the facts," she said. "There is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time and no charges have been laid."

Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Metro Inc. and Wal-Mart Canada Corp. issued news releases acknowledging their offices have been searched.


Loblaws is a sister company to Canada Bread, both controlled by the Weston Group, and Grupo Bimbo of Mexico is its main competitor after buying the bakery division of Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

The Bureau of Competition Policy might find it easier to substantiate price-fixing in the egg industry in Ontario, including a judge's comments in a court case and electronic records under court seal in a major lawsuit.