Competition Commissioner Decries ‘Weak’ Anti-Trust Measures After Bread Price-Fixing Scheme

Nine years after opening an investigation into how Canadian food companies colluded to fix bread prices, the competition commissioner is warning that the government’s competition laws are out of date and enforcement is weak. “The problem of concentration in this country is getting worse. 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,” testified Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell at the Senate National Finance Committee on Dec. 13. In June, Canada Bread agreed to pay $50 million after conspiring with Weston Foods executives to increase bread prices in 2007 and 2011. At that time, Weston Foods was a subsidiary of George Weston Ltd., the parent company of grocery chain Loblaws, and Canada Bread was owned and controlled by Maple Leaf Foods....