Close X
Friday, November 1, 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

One dead, another missing after Vancouver Island road washout

One dead, another missing after Vancouver Island road washout
Police on the west coast of Vancouver Island say one person has been found dead and another is missing after a road washout near Bamfield. RCMP in Port Alberni say a truck was found fully submerged in the Sarita River Saturday night after a "washout," and the body of the driver was later found nearby.

One dead, another missing after Vancouver Island road washout

Two plead guilty to B.C. murder of former Air India suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik

Two plead guilty to B.C. murder of former Air India suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik
Two men charged in the killing of former Air India bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a British Columbia court. The courthouse in New Westminster confirmed the pleas from Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez in the 2022 shooting of Malik, who was acquitted in 2005 over the 1985 bombings that killed 331 people. 

Two plead guilty to B.C. murder of former Air India suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik

Parliament returns amid partisan wrangling, rumblings about Trudeau's leadership

Parliament returns amid partisan wrangling, rumblings about Trudeau's leadership
The House of Commons returns today from a weeklong break, but it's unlikely to be business as usual. Members of Parliament resumed an 11th day of debate on a Conservative demand for documents about federal spending on green technology projects.

Parliament returns amid partisan wrangling, rumblings about Trudeau's leadership

B.C. woman, 57, found dead after home swept away by mudslide

B.C. woman, 57, found dead after home swept away by mudslide
Police in British Columbia say two people are dead and another is missing, thought to be inside a submerged vehicle, after a weekend of torrential rain that triggered mudslides, road washouts and localized flooding.

B.C. woman, 57, found dead after home swept away by mudslide

RCMP investigate after home shot at, 13-year-old injured in northern Manitoba

RCMP investigate after home shot at, 13-year-old injured in northern Manitoba
A 13-year-old boy has been seriously injured in a shooting in northern Manitoba. RCMP responded early Saturday morning to a report of shots bring fired at a home in Nisichawayasihk (nis-sis-TWAH'-see) Cree Nation, west of Thompson.

RCMP investigate after home shot at, 13-year-old injured in northern Manitoba

Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase

Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase
The federal government is expected to boost the minimum hourly wage that must be paid to temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream as a way to encourage employers to hire more Canadian staff. Under the current program’s high-wage labour market impact assessment (LMIA) stream, an employer must pay at least the median income in their province to qualify for a permit.

Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase