‘Person X’ named in bread price-fixing affidavit seeks to keep identity secret
The lawyer for an individual known to the public only as “Person X” is fighting to keep his client’s identity secret after the client was named in an affidavit in the bread price-fixing scandal that has engulfed Canada’s two largest bread producers and five major retailers.
Lawyer Scott Fenton, who represents “Person X,” argued in an Ottawa court Thursday that there has already been “robust” public access to an affidavit outlining the allegations, which was partially unsealed by court order in January.
Tae Mee Park, a lawyer for a media consortium which includes Postmedia, is fighting to have the eight remaining redacted paragraphs, which would reveal the individual’s identity, unsealed by the court.
The affidavit formed the basis for four search warrants carried out by Competition Bureau investigators at the head offices of suppliers Canada Bread and Weston Bakeries and the retailers Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart and Giant Tiger.
The document contains allegations of at least 15 instances of co-ordinated price increases, with each following a specific pattern — a 7-cent bread price hike by the suppliers, and a corresponding bread price increase of ten cents from the retailers involved.
It alleges senior officers of Canada Bread Ltd. and rival operator Weston Bakeries, owned by Loblaw Cos. owner George Weston Ltd., communicated directly with each other over many years to increase their wholesale fresh bread prices in tandem.
Fenton argued that even without revealing the identity of Person X, the public would still have “a full, robust understanding of the informational basis for the search warrant … (and) prevent prejudice to (Person X) as an innocent person.”
Fenton said his client maintains innocence, and noted no charges have been filed in the case.
Fenton objected to the “salacious” wording of one passage contained in the affidavit, which names his client under the heading, “Genesis of the Alleged Conspiracy, Agreement or Arrangement: Direct Communications.”
He argued the affidavit contains information that would be inadmissible as evidence in the event the case reaches trial.
The Bureau’s investigation began in March 2015 after whistleblowers at Weston Bakeries, its parent company George Weston Ltd. and Loblaw Cos., the country’s biggest grocery chain, approached the federal department in order to disclose their participation in the alleged collusion.
Loblaw and its affiliates have received immunity from prosecution, as did a witness named in the document as “Person A.”
Lawyers for Metro and Sobeys have filed a separate motion to have the identity of “Person A” made public.
Park, meanwhile, argued for the full public release of the document with no redactions, citing the immense public interest in “an unprecedented investigation into price-fixing of a food staple.”
Park argued the Competition Bureau commissioner relied on the information in the affidavit to seek the search warrants, and the original document, containing the real identity of “Person X,” was signed by the judge who authorized the searches.
“(Fenton) hasn’t made the case there is going to be a serious danger to the administration of justice if this information is disclosed,” she said.
Justice Lynn Ratushny reserved her decision on the matter until a future hearing.
— With files from Hollie Shaw
Ahelmer@postmedia.com