Maple Leaf Foods has denied any involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme as it faces a hearing to determine if it will be added to a class-action lawsuit.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Maple Leaf stated that any accusations of its participation in the alleged conspiracy are untrue.
Initially, when the class-action lawsuit was certified in an Ontario court in 2021 against various grocery retailers and food companies, Maple Leaf was not named as a defendant.
However, the plaintiffs are now seeking to include Maple Leaf as a defendant in the lawsuit through a hearing scheduled for Thursday, citing its ownership of Canada Bread.
In 2023, Canada Bread admitted to four counts of price-fixing and was fined by the bureau. As part of the class-action lawsuit, Canada Bread argues that Maple Leaf, its majority owner at the time, should bear responsibility instead.
This class-action lawsuit is one of two lawsuits filed following an ongoing investigation by the Competition Bureau into an alleged industry-wide conspiracy to manipulate bread prices.
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