Deadline approaches for Canadian class-action packaged bread settlement claims

Canadians have until Friday to submit an online claim for a slice of a $500 million bread price-fixing lawsuit.

The class-action lawsuit accuses Loblaw and its parent company, George Weston Limited, of engaging in an industry-wide scheme to fix the price of bread.

The Ontario Superior Court approved the $500 million settlement in May.

The settlement included a combined $404 million to be paid by Loblaw and George Weston Ltd.

The remaining $96 million is accounted for through a gift card program Loblaw began in 2018 and ran through 2019 in hopes of making amends with customers who paid about $1.50 more per loaf of bread.

Once legal fees and other court expenses are paid off, 78 per cent of the funds are set to be allocated to shoppers in Ontario, with the remaining amount headed for people in Quebec.

If there is still money left over after that distribution, funds will be divided among anyone who claimed the gift card.

Eligible Canadian residents can submit a claim if they bought any kind of packaged bread for personal use between 2001 and 2021.

Anyone who filed a claim could receive $25 within six to 12 months after the deadline.

No proof of purchase is needed, as the online page for submission says you don’t need a receipt.

The form to submit an online claim on the Canadian Packaged Bread Class Actions Settlement can be found here.

With files from The Canadian Press.

READ MORE: Claims process open for Canadian class-actions packaged bread settlement