The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, June 22, edition that Mexico-based Grupo Bimbo's Canada Bread has pleaded guilty to a criminal scheme to fix bread prices and will pay a $50-million fine -- a major development in the federal Competition Bureau's years-long investigation into the alleged conspiracy. Grupo Bimbo announced on Wednesday that it has resolved the investigation, acknowledging that Canada Bread made "arrangements" with one or more unnamed senior executives at competitor Weston Foods, which led to two wholesale price increases in 2007 and 2011. The wholesale price is the fee charged by manufacturers to retailers. At the time, Canada Bread was majority owned by Maple Leaf Foods, which remains under investigation by the bureau. Other companies still under investigation include Metro, Empire's Sobeys, Walmart Canada and Giant Tiger Stores. Representatives for all those companies have denied any violation of competition law. Federal Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell wrote in a news release on Wednesday: "Fixing the price of bread -- a food staple of Canadian households -- was a serious criminal offence. Our continuing investigation remains a top priority."