Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 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

Ottawa remembers reservist killed in Parliament Hill attack one decade later

Ottawa remembers reservist killed in Parliament Hill attack one decade later
After targeting Cirillo, the gunman made his way down the street to Parliament Hill and entered Centre Block, where he fired multiple shots before he was killed. The attack happened in the Hall of Honour while Conservative and NDP MPs were gathered in surrounding committee rooms for their weekly caucus meetings.

Ottawa remembers reservist killed in Parliament Hill attack one decade later

Death toll rises to three after atmospheric river that drenched southern B.C

Death toll rises to three after atmospheric river that drenched southern B.C
At least three deaths have been linked to torrential rain from an atmospheric river weather system that hammered British Columbia's south coast over the weekend. On Vancouver Island, police said Tuesday that emergency personnel were waiting for an opportunity to safely recover the body of a driver whose vehicle was submerged when an overflowing river washed out a road near Bamfield on Saturday.

Death toll rises to three after atmospheric river that drenched southern B.C

Eby says B.C. Greens not yet ready for minority talks as Furstenau stays Green leader

Eby says B.C. Greens not yet ready for minority talks as Furstenau stays Green leader
Recounts in two ridings and a tally of 49,000 absentee and mail-in ballots that are set to begin this Saturday will hold the key to the outcome, with both the NDP and the B.C. Conservatives falling short of the 47 ridings needed to form a majority after the initial count ended on the weekend.

Eby says B.C. Greens not yet ready for minority talks as Furstenau stays Green leader

59 year old man missing in Coquitlam

59 year old man missing in Coquitlam
Police are asking for the public's help in locating a 59-year-old man who was last seen near Pipeline Road and Galette Avenue, beside the swollen Coquitlam River. Robert Belding went missing Sunday afternoon at the tail end of an atmospheric river weather system that drenched B-C's south coast over the weekend.

59 year old man missing in Coquitlam

19 year old dies in crash

19 year old dies in crash
R-C-M-P in Ladysmith say a 19-year-old man is dead after a single-vehicle crash. It happened last night shortly after 10 p-m in the southbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway, which was closed for several hours.

19 year old dies in crash

Youth arrested after alleged threat of school shooting in Richmond police say

Youth arrested after alleged threat of school shooting in Richmond police say
Police say a youth has been arrested after a report of online threats against a school in the Metro Vancouver community of Richmond. RCMP say the Richmond School District contacted them on Saturday about alleged threats that a shooting would take place at a particular school on Monday. 

Youth arrested after alleged threat of school shooting in Richmond police say