A federal investigation into bread price-fixing has been ongoing for nearly nine years without a conclusion in sight.“I understand people are concerned,” said Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell.“It’s a significant endeavour,” Boswell testified at the Senate National Finance committee. “I understand people are concerned that we’re still investigating, but it’s a large, complex investigation.”According to Blacklock’s Reporter, no executives have been imprisoned. On June 22 last year, Canada Bread Co. pleaded guilty to violating the Competition Act and was fined $50 million. According to court records, the price-fixing scheme was estimated to be worth up to $5 billion.“Our bread price-fixing criminal investigation is ongoing,” said Commissioner Boswell, adding the $50 million Canada Bread fine was “the highest fine in Canadian history for price fixing.” “Before that, Loblaw and Weston came into the Bureau for immunity and exposed the alleged conspiracy,” said Boswell. “We have been investigating. It’s a large, complex investigation.”Boswell stated to date, seventeen search warrants have been served. However, he did not indicate when the investigation would conclude.Ontario Superior Court records show seven firms were accused of manipulating the $40 billion bread market “to accrue somewhere in the range of $5 billion in ill-gotten gains,” Justice Edward Morgan earlier wrote in a class action proceeding in the case. “The conspiracy at issue in this proposed class action is alleged to have gone for some 16 years,” wrote Justice Morgan.“The plaintiffs claim it was massive in scale involving the wholesale and retail sale of one of Canada’s most widely consumed staple products, packaged bread,” wrote Justice Morgan. Court documents show the Competition Bureau launched its secret probe of allegations in 2015.Loblaw Companies and Weston Bakeries, in a 2017 statement, admitted their role “in an industry-wide coordination of retail and wholesale prices of certain packaged bread products over a period extending from late 2001 to March 2015.” At the time, Loblaw offered shoppers $150 million in compensation through $25 gift cards.Commissioner Boswell told senators he rated Canada poorly in anti-trust measures. “Competition has been allowed to atrophy in this country for a long time and now we are paying and Canadians are angry about it,” he testified.“The problem of concentration in this country is getting worse,” said Boswell. “It has gotten a lot worse over the last generation and it’s something that all of us as people who are passionate about our country and our economy and policy need to address.” This year, federal courts and regulators approved the $26 billion acquisition of Shaw Communications, based in Calgary, by its larger rival, Rogers Communications, headquartered in Toronto.The Royal Bank's takeover of its seventh-largest rival, HSBC of Vancouver, for $13.5 billion was also approved.“We have had a weak Competition Act since 1986 with policies and approaches that are out of line with the rest of the world and a weak enforcement,” said Boswell. “Until recently, when our budget was increased, we had the same budget we had 20 years ago.”
