I’ve always taken bread for granted. I’ve never had to line up for bread. If there ever was a bread shortage in Toronto, I wasn’t around for it. As a kid in the 70s, I used to buy a freshly baked Italian loaf from the corner store every other day.
So, when I learned about the price-fixing scheme on bread, I was bewildered. If bread is too expensive at the giant grocers, can’t folks get their bread from their local bakery? Apparently not. We’re all buying bread from bread barons these days.
Even if you’re trying to be on a Keto diet, most of us still buy bread for our families. And toasted bread will always be a miracle treat. Who doesn’t pray by the toaster waiting for a delicious slice to come out?
When we need more bread, sliced bread, bagged bread, we always end up buying it at the same places: Loblaws (No Frills, Longos, etc), Metro, Walmart, Sobeys, and Costco. And we’re not alone. Millions of Canadians buy the same bread from the same big grocers. And that bread is made by just two companies: Weston Bakeries and Canada Bread.
Turns out that means a lot of money. Billions of dollars in fact.
Weston Bakeries and Canada Bread overcharged Canadians $5 billion in a bread price-fixing scheme from 2001 to 2015. The feds fined Canada Bread $50 million for two instances, but Galen Weston got off scot-free because he cooperated with the investigation.
It took a class action lawsuit to bring some compensation to Canadians. Loblaw’s $500 million settlement this year after 14 years of inflating bread prices doesn’t cut it, but it’s better than the feeble slap on the wrist from the feds.
As the years-long investigation continues, bread billionaires and billionaire grocers are making a killing. This racket reminds me of drug cartels. But not everyone takes drugs. And almost everyone eats bread. Except those folks who can no longer afford it and are lining up at our local food banks.
