Close X
Thursday, October 31, 2024
ADVT 
National

Creditors to vote on proposed $32.5B tobacco settlement in December

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 31 Oct, 2024 12:26 PM
  • Creditors to vote on proposed $32.5B tobacco settlement in December

Creditors of three major tobacco companies will get the chance to weigh in on a proposed multi-billion-dollar settlement in December.

An Ontario court has approved a motion that would see representatives for the creditors, which include provincial governments and plaintiffs in two Quebec class-action lawsuits, review and vote on the proposal on Dec. 12.

One of the companies, JTI-Macdonald Corp., had urged the court to hold off on approving the motion so the proposed plan could be amended before it's presented to creditors.

The company said it opposed the proposed plan of arrangement, calling it "unworkable" in its current form.

The proposal would see the three companies — JTI-Macdonald Corp., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. — pay $24 billion to provinces and territories and more than $4 billion to tens of thousands of Quebec smokers and their heirs.

Before it can be implemented, the proposed plan must be voted on by representatives for the creditors and then be approved by the court.

Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz did not give reasons for his decision to approve the motion Thursday, but repeatedly suggested during the hearing that discussions over any outstanding issues could continue before and even after the creditors' meeting.

Several of the other parties argued Thursday that JTI-Macdonald Corp.'s concerns should be raised and addressed later in the process.

Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and Imperial Tobacco said they had no issue with setting a date for the creditors' meeting but reserved the right to object to the proposal at a later stage in the process, including when it is presented for the court's approval.

The proposal reached through mediation doesn't specify each company's share of the $32.5-billion global settlement, an issue that "must be resolved" to move forward, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges said in a court document filed ahead of Thursday's hearing.

"RBH has not agreed to the proposed plan with the allocation issue unresolved," the company said in the document.

The company added it is "committed to resolving the issue in a timely manner to avoid the risk of substantial objections at the sanction hearing as well as the potential for further complications and delay."

Whether the companies need to support the plan for it to take effect remains in dispute, with some parties arguing the court could simply impose the settlement.

Other payments laid out in the proposal include more than $2.5 billion for smokers in other provinces and territories who were diagnosed with smoking-related illnesses over a four-year period, and more than $1 billion for a foundation to help detect and prevent tobacco-related diseases.

The proposed settlement comes after more than five years of negotiations as part of a corporate restructuring process that was triggered by a decades-long legal battle.

A Quebec Superior Court judge first ordered the three companies to pay about $15 billion in two class-action lawsuits involving smokers in the province who took up the habit between 1950 and 1998 and either fell ill or were addicted, or their heirs.

The landmark decision was upheld by the province's top court in 2019, prompting the companies to seek creditor protection in Ontario. 

The Ontario court put all legal proceedings against the companies, including lawsuits filed by provincial governments, on hold as the parties negotiated a global settlement. 

The stay of proceedings was initially set to expire after a few months, but has been renewed about a dozen times. It has now been extended to Jan. 31, 2025.

MORE National ARTICLES

50 tonnes of 'fatbergs' removed from Richmond sewers, Metro Vancouver says

50 tonnes of 'fatbergs' removed from Richmond sewers, Metro Vancouver says
Workers in Metro Vancouver have chiselled away about 50 tonnes of so-called "fatbergs" that have clogged the sewer system and prompted a reminder to residents not to dump grease down the drain. 

50 tonnes of 'fatbergs' removed from Richmond sewers, Metro Vancouver says

Body found in Cowichan Bay

Body found in Cowichan Bay
Police on eastern Vancouver Island say they have found the body of a 26-year-old man in the waters of Cowichan Bay. R-C-M-P say the man was last seen Monday and reported missing on Wednesday.

Body found in Cowichan Bay

Man charged in child pornography

Man charged in child pornography
Police in New Westminster say a 45-year-old man has been charged with one count of possession of child pornography.  They say in a statement that the man was arrested last July and he's since been released from custody with several "strict" court-ordered conditions. 

Man charged in child pornography

Wind warning for B.C.'s south coast with gusts up to 90 km/h expected overnight

Wind warning for B.C.'s south coast with gusts up to 90 km/h expected overnight
Coastal British Columbia will see strong winds overnight with gusts that could reach speeds of between 90 and 110 kilometres per hour.  Warnings from Environment Canada span the Greater Victoria area, the southern Gulf Islands, eastern Vancouver Island, southern parts of Metro Vancouver and Haida Gwaii.

Wind warning for B.C.'s south coast with gusts up to 90 km/h expected overnight

New regulations allow Canada Post to ship prohibited firearms returned in gun buyback

New regulations allow Canada Post to ship prohibited firearms returned in gun buyback
The federal government is giving Canada Post the ability to store and transport prohibited firearms in new regulations that bring the retail gun buyback program one step closer to beginning. An order-in-council dated Oct. 16 allows for prohibited assault-style firearms to be removed from safes at firearms retailers, transported and ultimately destroyed. 

New regulations allow Canada Post to ship prohibited firearms returned in gun buyback

Joly faces calls for probe in death of woman Canada refused to repatriate from Syria

Joly faces calls for probe in death of woman Canada refused to repatriate from Syria
Advocates want Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly to call an impartial investigation into the death of a Canadian woman the federal government refused to repatriate from a Syrian detention camp. In a letter to Joly, Sen. Kim Pate and human rights activist Alex Neve say the Quebec woman died unexpectedly just over a week ago in Turkey.

Joly faces calls for probe in death of woman Canada refused to repatriate from Syria