The three tobacco giants in Canada have obtained 12 court stays to protect themselves against their creditors since 2019.
22 September 2024
By Jean-Philippe Nadeau, Radio Canada
After the death of his parents, Sylvain Fortin no longer expects anything today from the collective action of the 100,000 victims of smoking in Quebec, despite their two victories in the courts of that province. He says he is convinced that tobacco companies will no longer compensate almost anyone, because legal proceedings have been dragging on for 25 years.
Sylvain Fortin can cross his share of compensation. His father died of throat cancer in 2002 and his mother of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2020.
His mother was the only heiress of the father, who was the only heir. He will therefore not be entitled to any compensation from tobacco giants, who have been trying to escape bankruptcy for more than five years.
If any compensation were to appear in court, only survivors and their direct heirs would see the color of their money. And again.
Tobacco companies are doing very well, since the number of compensation decreases significantly over time
, he explains.
I lost my parents and other families went through the same thing as me, but tobacco companies, governments and lawyers don’t care. They are premature deaths of loved ones that they have all lost sight of in this case.
After a quarter of a century, what remains?
, wonders the 62-year-old lawyer by training, who works as a researcher in health law.
This is extremely sad, it shows how deficient the judicial system is and that it is three galaxies away from being able to effectively protect victims and their families
, he continues.
The negotiations, which are continuing behind closed doors between cigarette makers and their creditors, does not bode well, in his opinion, even more so if the three companies are asking for a 13th suspension this week to extend the protection they have obtained from the Ontario courts.
With the death of the sick and their heirs, it becomes a class action for whom? For no one
, adds Mr. Fort.
A reorganization that is dragging on
JTI-Macdonald, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and Imperial Tobacco have until September 27 to complete their financial restructuring before the protection ends.
The three companies have been in crisis since the Quebec Court of Appeal forced them in March 2019 to compensate, up to some $14 billion, for 100,000 victims of smoking in this province.
After their defeat, the tobacco giants had turned to an Ontario court to benefit from protection against their creditors and avoid putting the key under the door of their factories in Canada.
The Superior Court of Ontario had therefore suspended the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Quebec and, at the same time, all legal proceedings initiated against tobacco companies in Canada.
The provinces and territories are trying to recover the money they have invested for years in the care of smoking patients.
Sylvain Fortin says thatGovernments should never have put their noses in there
, because they have entered into direct competition with the victims of smoking.
Governments demonstrate their lack of compassion for the families concerned, it is the victims who must be compensated first
, he stresses, describing them as profiteers.