A woman smokes on a street, in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. More details are expected today on a proposed deal that would see the three major companies pay out billions of dollars to provinces and territories as well as smokers and their loved ones.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Kin Cheung
The companies — JTI-Macdonald Corp., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. — sought creditor protection in Ontario in 2019 after Quebec’s highest court upheld a ruling ordering them to pay nearly $15 billion in two class-action lawsuits. A proposed plan of arrangement developed through mediation was filed in court Thursday, and includes nearly $25 billion for provincial and territorial governments as well as more than $4 billion for the Quebec class-action members.
Lawyers involved in the Quebec lawsuits and those representing a group of provinces and territories in the proceedings are expected to discuss the proposal in separate media events today.Parents across GTA warned by some private daycares that they may pull out of $10-a-day program