Loblaw, parent agree to pay $500M to settle bread price-fixing lawsuit

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its genitor institution George Weston Ltd. opportunity they person agreed to salary $500-million to settee a class-action suit regarding their engagement successful an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.

The class-action lawsuit was brought against a group of companies that includes Loblaw and nan Weston companies, Metro, Walmart Canada, Giant Tiger and Sobeys and its proprietor Empire Co. Ltd.

It alleges nan defendants conspired to hole nan value of packaged breadstuff successful Canada, and was revenge connected behalf of each residents of Canada who purchased packaged breadstuff aft Nov. 1, 2001, isolated from for residents of Quebec and parties related to nan defendants.

In a property release, George Weston said it would salary $247.5 cardinal successful cash, while Loblaw would salary $252.5 million, made up of $156.5 cardinal successful rate and in installments for $96 cardinal antecedently paid to customers by Loblaw nether nan Loblaw Card program.

Loblaw president Galen Weston, who is besides president and main executive of George Weston, said “this behaviour should ne'er person happened.”

“On behalf of nan Weston group of companies, we are sorry for nan price-fixing behaviour we discovered and self-reported successful 2015,” he said successful a statement.

“We person nan privilege of serving Canadians from seashore to coast. That privilege needs to beryllium earned each and each day. Reaching a colony connected this matter was nan correct point to do successful consequence to erstwhile behaviour that did not meet our values and ethical standards.”

Loblaw president and CEO Per Bank added nan grocer would activity to “earn (Canadians’) spot whenever and wherever they take to shop pinch us.”

“We will proceed to activity difficult to present connected that commitment,” he said successful nan property release.

Lawyers representing nan plaintiffs said nan payout, taxable to tribunal approval, is nan largest antitrust colony successful Canadian history.

“This is simply a important milestone successful Canadian people action history and sends a beardown connection that behaviour that harms consumers will not beryllium tolerated,” said Jay Strosberg, managing partner of Strosberg Wingfield Sasso LLP, successful a abstracted property release.

The lawyers said their attraction will now displacement to preparing for proceedings successful nan ongoing people actions against Canada Bread, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart Canada and Giant Tiger.

The plaintiffs accused nan companies of participating successful a 14-year industry-wide price-fixing conspiracy betwixt 2001 and 2015 starring to an artificial summation successful packaged breadstuff prices.

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The Competition Bureau began investigating alleged breadstuff price-fixing successful January 2016. Weston Foods and Loblaw, some subsidiaries of George Weston astatine nan time, had antecedently admitted their information successful an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” and received immunity from prosecution successful speech for co-operating.

At slightest $1.50 was added to nan value of a loaf of breadstuff during nan 16-year conspiracy, nan bureau alleged successful tribunal documents successful 2018.

In June 2023, Canada Bread was fined $50 cardinal aft pleading blameworthy to 4 counts of price-fixing breadstuff products nether nan Competition Act. The Competition Bureau called it nan highest price-fixing good ever imposed by a Canadian court.

In its connection of defence successful nan people action record past October, Canada Bread denied participating successful a wide-ranging conspiracy to hole nan value of bread, and denied profiting from nan alleged conspiracy aliases from nan value increases it admitted to.

Metro submitted a connection of defence and cross-claim to nan Ontario Superior Court precocious past twelvemonth accusing Loblaw and George Weston of colluding to implicate nan rival grocer.

Metro denied being progressive successful breadstuff price-fixing and accused nan companies of trying to dispersed nan blasted crossed nan manufacture and debar nationalist cognition that Loblaw was nan sole retailer progressive successful price-fixing.

Sobeys besides revenge a connection of defence and crossclaim successful nan people action and has said it was falsely implicated.

Walmart Canada has besides denied colluding to hole nan value of breadstuff aliases violating nan Competition Act, while Giant Tiger said it did not participate aliases cognize astir nan alleged conspiracy.

—With files from Rosa Saba