Here’s how to get a slice of the bread price-fixing payout

A worker re-stocks shelves in the bakery and bread aisle at an Atlantic Superstore grocery in Halifax on Jan. 28, 2022. (Kelly Clark / The Canadian Press)

Canadians who have purchased bread in the past two decades may receive cash from two class actions involving major grocery companies accused of overcharging.

For the Loblaw/Weston settlement to take effect, both courts in Ontario and Quebec must approve it.

The Ontario Superior Court on May 7 approved a $500-million settlement to a lawsuit that accused Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company, George Weston Ltd., of participating in an industry-wide scheme to fix the price of bread.

Meanwhile, the Quebec Superior Court will still need to approve the second agreement, its next hearing scheduled June 16, in order for the settlement to activate.

“This ($500-million national) settlement is not an admission by Loblaw/Weston of liability, fault, or wrongdoing, but is a compromise of disputed claims,” according to a Quebec settlement notice online.

The notice states that if the settlement in both class actions is approved, 78 per cent of the funds will go towards the Ontario claims affecting residents in most of the country and 22 per cent will be allocated to the Quebec claims. The settlement will be distributed once legal fees, administration and other expenses, approved by the courts, are paid.

Who is eligible for the payout?

Eligible individuals and businesses are automatically included in the Ontario Loblaw/Weston settlement class action.

Those who may receive the payouts include individuals or businesses who purchased packaged bread produced or distributed by one of the defendants, either directly or indirectly, in Canada between Jan. 1, 2001 and Dec. 31, 2021, and who didn’t receive a Loblaw gift card as part of a 2018-19 campaign to compensate customers who paid about $1.50 more per loaf of bread.

Additionally, eligible people who bought the product for personal use must have resided anywhere in Canada, except Quebec, as of Dec. 31, 2021. Defendants in the lawsuits and related parties are excluded.

Justin Smith, a lawyer at Strosberg Wingfield Sasso LLP based out of the firm’s Windsor offices, is involved with the Ontario class action. In an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday, he says the courts will decide later on how settlement funds reserved for businesses that resold packaged bread will be distributed.

The eligible packaged bread includes products and bread alternatives produced by, or distributed by, any of the “current or future defendants” in the class actions, excluding bread that is frozen when sold and bread baked on site, according to the Ontario class action website.

The amount received per person will depend on factors such as the number of claims made that are approved.

The Quebec class action is similar to the Ontario claims, but it only includes residents of Quebec who bought at least one package of bread from Jan. 1, 2001 to Dec. 19, 2019.

Check out more information and sign up for updates about next steps by visiting the following websites:

• www.canadianbreadsettlement.ca
• www.reglementpainquebec.ca

How do I make a claim?

Eligible people don’t have to do anything yet to be part of the Ontario national claim, and the deadline to opt out of or object to this approved settlement already passed on April 25.

Similarly, those eligible are automatically included in the Quebec claim, but can opt out of or object to it until May 30.

The claims process is still to be determined in both cases. A legal notice or claim forms will be provided once the settlement is approved by both courts in Ontario and Quebec.

What’s next?

An Ontario court approved the Loblaw-Weston settlement on May 7, with an appeal period of 30 days. If the settlement is approved in Quebec, “it will resolve all claims against Loblaw and Weston relating to this matter,” according to a press release from March 11 by Strosberg Wingfield Sasso LLP and Orr Taylor LLP.

After the settlement’s approval, and if there are no appeals in Ontario and Quebec, the process of distributing the funds will begin, according to Smith.

However, if the Quebec court rejects the settlement next month, it will become “null and void” in Ontario, and Loblaw and its parent George Weston will remain defendants in the class actions, according to Smith.

In case there is a rejection, Smith says the remaining $404 million in settlement cash would go back to the companies, but the gift card program money totalling $96 million that was already distributed won’t be returned.

Smith adds if it’s approved in both Ontario and Quebec, the settlement agreement would allow lawyers access to information for use in the case against the remaining defendants Canada Bread, Sobeys, Metro, Wal-Mart Canada and Giant Tiger.

Regardless of the outcome in Quebec, he said the cases against the non-settling defendants will continue.

“The expectation is that this will result in further significant monetary recovery for Canadians,” Jim Orr, partner at Orr Taylor LLP, said in a statement in the March 11 press release.

With files from The Canadian Press