A 71-year-old anti-poverty activist has filed a $1-billion class-action lawsuit against several grocers after Loblaw Companies Ltd. and George Weston Ltd. revealed Tuesday that they participated in an industry-wide bread price-fixing arrangement for more than a decade.

Irene Breckon, president of the Anti-Poverty Coalition in Elliot Lake, Ont., regularly bought loaves of Country Harvest bread at a No Frills grocery store.

When she heard that Loblaws was offering their customers a $25 gift card as a gesture of goodwill, Breckon said she was outraged.

“When I first thought about it, I thought a $25 gift card for 14 years . . . is nothing,” Breckon told the Star on Saturday night.

“My biggest concern is that these people have been overcharged for all those years for such a basic necessity in life. Bread is a staple and many people need it. I’m hoping these corporations get punished and I’m hoping that people will receive better reimbursement.”

None of the allegations have been proven in court and the class-action lawsuit would have to be certified by a judge to proceed.

The suit names grocers Canada Bread, Walmart, Sobeys, Giant Tiger and Metro as well as Loblaw Companies Ltd. and George Weston Ltd. as defendants, according to a statement of claim filed by Toronto-based law firm Sotos LLP.

Breckon is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, filed on behalf of all Canadians who purchased bread at their stores starting in January 2001.

Jean-Marc Leclerc, a lawyer with Sotos LLP and co-counsel to the case told the Star on Sunday that he cannot yet confirm whether accepting the $25 gift card will have an effect on someone’s ability to claim damages.

“We will argue to the court that this is a gratuitous offer that is being made by Loblaw, and does not represent in any way an adequate award of damages,” Leclerc said in a phone interview.

If the defendants attempt to argue that gift card recipients can’t participate in the suit, Leclerc said Sotos LLP will “go to the court on very short order to say that is improper, and that we want relief from the court relating to that issue.”

Leclerc stressed that the matter remains before the court, which will ultimately decide whether the gift card will impact damages awarded to participants of the suit.

Loblaw Cos. chairman and chief executive officer Galen G. Weston described the bread price-fixing scheme — from 2001 to 2015 — as an industry-wide issue.

But Giant Tiger and Metro Inc. issued releases saying they had no reason to believe or evidence to suggest that any of their employees had been engaged in the scheme.

Marie-Claude Bacon, senior director corporate affairs for Metro Inc., told the Star via email that the company would not be commenting on the class action lawsuit.

“Giant Tiger has no reason to believe at this time that we, or any of our employees has been involved with a price fixing scheme or has violated the Competition Act. We are continuing to cooperate with the Competition Bureau during their investigation and look forward to reviewing their findings once complete,” Alison Scarlett, a spokesperson for Giant Tiger, said via email.

Sobey’s took its response to the allegations a step further.

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“Although Loblaw and George Weston have admitted wrongdoing by their companies and certain of their employees, it is important to note that their reckless assertion of industry-wide price-fixing has not been proven,” according to the Sobey’s release.

Breckon said she’s hoping to use part of the money she receives to give back to food banks and families living in her community.

“I want to see families benefit from this. I definitely want to see that these corporations don’t take advantage again.”