Canada Bread denies price fixing scheme, points finger at Maple Leaf Foods

In a statement of defence for a class-action lawsuit, Canada Bread Co. Ltd. denied participating in a 'lengthy, wide-ranging conspiracy' to fix the price of bread.

The bread supplier that admitted to price-fixing earlier this year says in new court filings that any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods.

In a statement of defence for a class-action lawsuit alleging a bread price-fixing scheme, Canada Bread Co. Ltd. denied participating in a “lengthy, wide-ranging conspiracy” to fix the price of bread. It also denied profiting from the alleged conspiracy, or from the price increases it pleaded guilty to participating in as part of the Competition Bureau’s investigation.

“To the extent that Canada Bread profited from any actionable anti-competitive behaviour, all of the material benefit accrued to Maple Leaf,” the company said its statement filed to Ontario Superior Court on Oct. 25.

Allegations of improper pricing conduct at Canada Bread while Maple Leaf was a shareholder are “totally unfounded,” said Suzanne Hathaway, Maple Leaf’s senior vice-president, general counsel and communications, in an emailed statement.

“The Statement of Defence filed by Canada Bread … simply repeats the baseless accusations they made earlier this year, which were widely reported,” Hathaway said.

In June, Canada Bread was fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing bread products under the Competition Act. The Competition Bureau called it the highest price-fixing fine ever imposed by a Canadian court.

Canada Bread admitted to arranging with its competitor Weston Foods to increase prices on a variety of packaged bread products, resulting in two price increases, one in 2007 and one in 2011. As noted in the Oct. 25 court filings, the company admitted in June that one of its most senior executives, who was also a senior officer at Maple Leaf at the time, participated in the price-fixing agreements.

At the time, Canada Bread was majority-owned by Maple Leaf. It was purchased by Mexico-based Grupo Bimbo in 2014.