GO MCGUINTY!!!

No, for once I'm NOT calling for him to be tossed out of office... I'm COMMENDING HIS GOVERNMENT FOR THIS...and I'm backing this one 100%!!!

Ont. launches $50B tobacco lawsuit
Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Ontario says it is going to sue the big tobacco companies — for $50 billion.

The province said in a news release it is seeking damages "for past and ongoing health-care costs linked to tobacco-related illness."

"Ontario is taking the next step towards recovering taxpayer dollars spent fighting tobacco-related illnesses. We are joining British Columbia and New Brunswick in initiating a lawsuit to recover health-care costs from tobacco companies," said Attorney General Chris Bentley.

The $50-billion figure represents the cost the province says it has footed for providing health care to smokers for more than half a century.

"The amount of $50 billion will have to be proven in court, of course, but that it our view of the costs of health care- related illnesses directly tied to tobacco from 1955 until now," Bentley told reporters outside the provincial legislative assembly.

Ontario set the framework for the lawsuit through legislation passed this year.

The Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act allows the province to sue for recovery of past, present and continuing tobacco-related damages. It also creates a method to determine the costs associated with tobacco-related illnesses and allocates liability by market share.

"The taxpayers of the province of Ontario have paid a lot of money for health-care costs directly related to tobacco use over the decades," Bentley said. "We passed legislation, which is consistent with legislation in other places. We believe the taxpayers should be compensated for the costs that they have paid. That's what this lawsuit is about,"

The tobacco companies have not responded.

The allegations contained in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.

The first lawsuit against tobacco companies was pursued by four U.S. states in the mid-1990s, and led to a 50-state agreement in 1999 in which the industry agreed to pay $246 billion US over a 25-year period for health-care costs that resulted from the use of its products.

With files from The Canadian Press