The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that Metro is accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate them in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post says that in new court documents, the Montreal-based grocer denies being involved in bread price-fixing and accuses the companies of trying to spread the blame across the industry and avoid public perception that Loblaw was the sole retailer involved in price-fixing. "Metro has suffered, and continues to suffer, significant and unjustifiable damage to its reputation, having been falsely painted as involved in a criminal price-fixing conspiracy when it was not," the retailer said. Metro submitted a statement of defence and cross-claim to the Ontario Superior Court on Monday, regarding a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all Canadian residents who bought bread after Nov. 1, 2001, except for Quebec residents. Its cross-claim also implicates former George Weston subsidiaries Weston Foods (Canada) Inc. and Weston Bakeries Ltd. Loblaw spokeswoman Catherine Thomas said in a statement that the allegations by Metro are "simply ridiculous and utterly untrue, as will be made clear in court."