Air quality advisories issued in 5 provinces, 1 territory
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
It’s been more than five years since Canada’s Competition Bureau began its investigation into an alleged bread price-fixing scheme involving major grocery chains and bakeries countrywide.
But since then, no charges have been laid and the Bureau hasn’t released conclusions of its probe.
The vice-dean of research in Civil Law at the University of Ottawa says it raises questions about the watchdog’s ability to safeguard consumers or compel companies.
“It’s not clear what’s going on, and I don’t know that the Competition Bureau knows what they need to do to change the incentives,” associate professor Jennifer Quaid told CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday, also referring to the watchdog’s examination of companies’ profits amid rising food prices.
News of bread price-fixing emerged in 2015, when Loblaw alerted the Competition Bureau to its role in an alleged scheme that it claimed caused packaged bread prices to be artificially inflated between 2001 and 2015.
In court documents released in 2018, the Competition Bureau alleged that senior officers at Canada Bread Company Ltd. and George Weston Ltd. communicated with each other to agree to raise bread prices at least 15 times, with increases averaging about 10 cents.
According to the Bureau’s allegations within the court documents, the suppliers allegedly met with retailers to gain consensus approval for the price hikes in practices the watchdog believed continued into 2017.
"The alleged conspiracy was a deliberate attempt by management of Canada Bread and Weston Bakeries, along with the retailers, to suppress competition at both the wholesale and retail level and thereby increase the wholesale and retail prices of fresh commercial bread in Canada," wrote Simon Bessette, a senior competition law officer with the Competition Bureau's cartels and deceptive marketing practices branch.
Due to its co-operation in the probe, Loblaw received immunity. It also offered $25 gift cards to customers as a form of apology.
Now, years into the probe, observers have noticed the investigation is not “following the usual pattern of what’s expected when you grant immunity to one party,” said Quaid.
Typically, one party is provided with immunity and then other conspirators “line up” to make a deal, she explained.
The leniency program with the Competition Bureau usually grants immunity to the first party that comes forward, Quaid said. Subsequent parties will receive leniency in smaller and smaller amounts depending on how quickly they came forward and how many others came forward before they did.
“And whether there is an instigator, as instigators aren’t supposed to get any favourable treatment,” she said. “But the idea is, it’s supposed to precipitate a rush to make deals, and everyone comes forward. That’s not what happened here.”
This is now the challenge of a system that is based on voluntary co-operation, she said.
Since 2017, remediation agreements have been introduced that are meant to help solve crimes involving large companies. But competition offences are excluded from that, said Quaid.
“A remediation agreement actually gives you the chance to avoid a guilty plea, which means you can avoid being barred from tendering in public contracts,” she said. However, that might not be relevant to the bread industry, she said.
The most plausible explanation is that Loblaw has come forward, but the other companies don’t believe enough evidence is present and they are prepared to sit back, she said.
The pace of the bread price-fixing probe is occurring in the shadow of increased public concern over the impact of inflation on food prices, and another current investigation by the Competition Bureau into whether grocery stores are profiting excessively from rising prices.
Using criminal law to ensure companies do not take advantage of customers via prices may not be the best tool and instead, the economic system Canada relies on may need to be examined, said Quaid.
“Something that everyone has to remember is that we don’t set prices generally in Canada. We allow the market to determine prices,” she said.
“If there’s a need to intervene to make sure prices are at a low enough level, that starts to look like a different economic system, that may make some people worried, now the state is deciding what’s an affordable price,” she said.
With files from The Canadian Press
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
For her latest column on CTVNews.ca, royal commentator Afua Hagan writes about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent visit to Nigeria, calling it a 'deeply meaningful campaign' that was about aligning their ongoing efforts to foster mental-health awareness and promoting the Invictus Games.
Ontario will need 33,200 more nurses and 50,853 more personal support workers by 2032, the government projects — figures it tried to keep secret but were obtained by The Canadian Press.
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Thousands have been forced to flee a wildfire burning near Fort Nelson. Meanwhile, some experienced volunteers are staying behind to fight the fire.
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
Kansas could soon offer up to US$5 million in grants for schools to outfit surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence systems that can spot people carrying guns. But the governor needs to approve the expenditures and the schools must meet some very specific criteria.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'