The owners of Canada Bread have pleaded guilty to price
fixing and have been fined $50 million.
Grupo Bimbo bakery of Mexico was not told about the price-fixing
when it bought Canada Bread from Maple Leaf Foods Inc. in 2014 for $1.85
billion.
Early on, the Weston Group informed the federal competition
regulators about the price-fixing scheme and was granted immunity from prosecution
in return for its cooperation.
The competition investigation also involves Weston’s Loblaws
and affiliated supermarkets, WalMart, Sobeys and Giant Tiger.
The Weston Group sold its Weston Bakery business after the
scandal broke.
Court documents indicate one of the deals led to price
increases of 12 to 14 cents a loaf in 2007. There were also price increases in
2011 and they extended beyond bread to hot dog buns and rolls.
Loblaws has compensated clients with $25 gift certificates.
The Competition Bureau opened a broader investigation of
supermarkets earlier this year.
