CHARLEBOIS: From one ‘cartel’ to another
We have just learned that major Canadian food companies, namely Loblaw, Metro, Maple Leaf Foods, Walmart, and Weston Bakeries, find themselves entangled in a class-action lawsuit filed in Quebec. It seems inevitable that we may soon witness a similar class-action lawsuit affecting the rest of Canada.
The lawsuit alleges that these industry giants colluded to unlawfully manipulate the price of meat, resulting in households allegedly paying more than $4 billion in unjustified excess. At the centre of the case lies a critical piece of evidence — an email dating back to March 2007, wherein the former president of Maple Leaf Foods, Michael McCain, outlines a concerning discussion with Paul Del Duca, a former senior vice-president at Metro in Ontario.
We are a Banana Republic.
