After nearly three decades fighting Canada香蕉视频直播檚 tobacco giants, Lise Blais is close to getting compensation for the lung cancer her late husband developed from smoking cigarettes.
Under a newly proposed deal, JTI-Macdonald Corp., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. would pay close to $25 billion to provinces and territories. More than $4 billion would go to tens of thousands of Quebec smokers and their loved ones, including Blais, who like other plaintiffs is eligible to receive up to $100,000.
The proposal is the result of a corporate restructuring process set off by a legal battle over the health effects of smoking.
香蕉视频直播淔or sure we got discouraged but I香蕉视频直播檝e always said I香蕉视频直播檒l go to the end,香蕉视频直播� Blais, 81, said at a news conference in Montreal on Friday.
Blais and her son Martin Blais both said they feel 香蕉视频直播減roud,香蕉视频直播� but they added that their fight was never about the money.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 been a long process, 26 years 香蕉视频直播� something like that. Obviously our loved ones won香蕉视频直播檛 come back from the dead, but at least it gives us some kind of justice, some kind of closure, and the next step will be to wait for the agreement to take effect,香蕉视频直播� said Martin Blais, speaking of his father, Jean-Yves Blais, who died in August 2012 at the age of 68.
After a prolonged five-year process, a proposed plan of arrangement developed through mediation was filed in an Ontario court on Thursday. The three tobacco companies had sought creditor protection in Ontario in early 2019 after they lost an appeal in a landmark court battle in Quebec.
Within the $32.5-billion deal, provinces and territories would get a combined $24.8 billion; members of the class action would get $4.25 billion; Canadian victims from provinces outside Quebec would receive $2.5 billion; and the three tobacco companies would also pour more than $1 billion into a foundation to fight tobacco-related diseases 香蕉视频直播� that amount includes $131 million taken from the money allocated to the Quebec plaintiffs.
香蕉视频直播淚 feel relived but I wish my father was here 香蕉视频直播�. It was his fight,香蕉视频直播� Martin Blais said. 香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 proud also that my mom took the fight and that she香蕉视频直播檚 still involved.香蕉视频直播�
Dominique Claveau, executive director of anti-tobacco group Conseil qu茅b茅cois du tabac et de la sant茅, said, 香蕉视频直播淔or more than 50 years, Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & Hedges and JTI-Macdonald have lied, concealed the truth, systematically minimized and trivialized the dangers of tobacco.香蕉视频直播�
香蕉视频直播淎fter more than 25 years of legal proceedings, the tobacco companies will finally have to compensate the many victims of tobacco in Quebec and Canada.香蕉视频直播�
Bruce W. Johnston, one of the lawyers for the Quebec plaintiffs, has been with the case since the start. He said the proposal demonstrates that the Quebec justice system works.
香蕉视频直播淲hen we took this case in 1998, as far as we knew, there had never been a single person who had received a single penny in compensation from a tobacco company,香蕉视频直播� he said in an interview after the news conference. 香蕉视频直播淓very single attempt had failed, and no one has ever achieved what we香蕉视频直播檝e achieved. There香蕉视频直播檒l be tens of thousands of people who will receive compensation.香蕉视频直播�
Johnston said there are potentially 100,000 people in Quebec who are eligible to receive up to $100,000, but so far he said the legal team has been in contact with just under 30,000 people. Smokers elsewhere in Canada who were diagnosed with lung cancer, throat cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease between March 2015 and March 2019 would be eligible for up to $60,000 each.
Raymond F. Wagner, one of the lawyers who represents the Canadian victims outside Quebec, called the deal 香蕉视频直播渉istoric,香蕉视频直播� adding that if it had not been for the Quebec legal team香蕉视频直播檚 efforts, victims outside the province would not be entitled to compensation.
In a news release Friday, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges said there are still 香蕉视频直播渋mportant issues香蕉视频直播� to sort out with the plan but the proposal 香蕉视频直播渞epresents an important step toward resolving long-standing tobacco-product litigation against it in Canada.香蕉视频直播� In a statement Thursday, Imperial Tobacco Canada said the proposal 香蕉视频直播渞esolves all Canadian tobacco litigation.香蕉视频直播�
The proposal must still go through several steps before it can be put into action, including a vote by creditors and approval by the court.
However, Andr茅 Lesp茅rance, one of the lawyers representing the victims, said the majority of creditors have already voiced their support, adding that he is not expecting further obstacles.
香蕉视频直播淭he tobacco companies have a history of putting up roadblocks, but we香蕉视频直播檙e really confident here that there won香蕉视频直播檛 be any objections on their part that would prevent an Ontario Superior Court judge from approving the agreement,香蕉视频直播� Lesp茅rance said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.
Joe Bongiorno, The Canadian Press
