Maple Leaf Foods Sues Canada Bread, Grupo Bimbo for Defamation Around Alleged Price-Fixing Conspiracy
The fallout over an alleged bread price-fixing conspiracy in Canada continues, as Maple Leaf Foods Inc. launched a defamation lawsuit against Canada Bread Co. Ltd. and its parent company, Grupo Bimbo, according to news reports.
Maple Leaf was the controlling shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, when Canada Bread was purchased by Grupo Bimbo. The lawsuit filed by Maple Leaf is an attempt to fight back against Canada Bread’s accusations that Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged conspiracy — which is the subject of two class-action lawsuits and an ongoing investigation by the Canadian Competition Bureau. Maple Leaf says such claims by Canada Bread are “unfounded, defamatory and devoid of merit.”
The alleged scheme has been under investigation by the Competition Bureau since 2016, and according to the bureau, at least (CAD) $1.50 has been added to the price of a loaf of bread over 16 years, the news report said.
It also cited a spokesperson for Canada Bread, who called Maple Leaf’s claims “without merit.”
Canada Bread was fined $50 million (CAD) by the Competition Bureau in relation to the alleged conspiracy after it separately pleaded guilty to four counts of price fixing in 2023 but denied any sort of larger conspiracy. It has also said any anticompetitive practices were adopted at the direction of and to benefit Maple Leaf.
Plaintiffs for one of the class-action suits applied to have Maple Leaf added as a defendant given its past ownership of Canada Bread, but that effort failed. Meanwhile, Canada Bread wants Maple Leaf to be liable for any damages it incurs — or will in the future — due to this alleged conspiracy. And Maple Leaf says Canada Bread and Grupo Bimbo are attempting to shift blame to it for what it called mismanagement of the company post-acquisition by Grupo Bimbo.
