Various cuts of beef are seen in the meat section at an Atlantic Superstore grocery in Halifax, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. The Canadian Press/Kelly Clark
A proposed settlement has been reached with some of the meat companies accused of conspiring to fix the price of beef for Canadian consumers.
A statement from multiple Canadian law firms issued Thursday said JBS USA Company, Swift Beef Company, JBS Packerland Inc., and JBS Canada ULC have agreed to pay $7.49 million, while National Beef will pay $495,000.
The deal still needs to be approved by the courts and is not considered an admission of wrongdoing by the companies.
The class-action lawsuit against multiple major corporations in the meat industry was filed in 2022. The lawyers say action against other defendants from the companies Cargill and Tyson is still continuing.
In his decision to certify the class-action last year, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Michael Thomas said the companies were accused of conspiring with each other to “fix, maintain, increase or control the price of beef as well as fix, maintain, control, prevent or lessen the production or supply of beef” to influence the price.
The lawsuit accuses senior executives and employees of communicating with each other in secret about “the exchange of private and competitively sensitive information regarding the supply of fed cattle and the production and sale of beef,” Thomas said.
It alleges that as a result of the communication, the companies conspired to reduce and manage their respective slaughter volumes, controlling the supply of beef, while at the same time fixing the price of beef sold in Canada and elsewhere.
It says they would periodically agree to reduce the number of cattle slaughtered or reduce the capacity at certain slaughtering plants.
Details have not been released on how Canadians would qualify for a share of the proposed settlement money.
Hearings on whether to approve the deal will be held in September in British Columbia and December in Quebec.
A summary on the law firms’ website says the courts will decide how the settlement funds will be distributed and how someone can apply to receive a share.
The settlement does not include beef products and beef purchased by the food service industry, such as restaurants.
