Big tobacco companies reach tentative multibillion-dollar settlement with Canada

By The Associated Press

Lise Blais, widow of plaintiff Jean-Yves Blais, wipes her eye as her son, Martin, looks on during a news conference, in Montreal, on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. Tobacco companies have offered to pay nearly $24 billion USD in compensation to smokers and their loved ones. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ryan Remiorz]

TORONTO (AP) — Three large tobacco companies would pay nearly $24 billion to settle a long-running legal battle in Canada, according to a proposed deal.

Philip Morris International said Friday that a court-appointed mediator had filed the proposed settlement with its Canadian affiliate, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, over tobacco product-related claims and litigation in Canada. Similar deals were also filed covering JTI-Macdonald Corp. and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd.

“After years of mediation, we welcome this important step towards the resolution of long-pending tobacco product-related litigation in Canada,” Philip Morris International’s CEO Jacek Olczak said in a statement.

The three tobacco companies had sought creditor protection in Ontario in early 2019 after they lost an appeal in a landmark court battle in Quebec.

The Canadian Press reported that under the $32.5 billion Canadian dollar ($23.53 billion) deal, Canadian provinces and territories would get a combined CN$24.8 billion; members of the class action would get CN$4.25 billion; Canadian victims from provinces outside Quebec would receive CN$2.5 billion; and the three tobacco companies would also pour more than CN$1 billion into a foundation to fight tobacco-related diseases — that amount includes CN$131 million taken from the money allocated to the Quebec plaintiffs.