In a legal saga that spans more than two decades, all 10 Canadian provinces, including Ontario, have filed lawsuits against Canada's tobacco industry seeking a total of $500 billion in damages for tobacco-related health-care costs. It's the largest class action lawsuit in Canadian history by a long shot. And for the past fpour years, negotiations between the provinces and Big Tobacco have been taking place entirely in secret. Not one province has publicly released any information on those negotiations. No public documents, public statements or public involvement. In comparison, when the U.S. took Big Tobacco to court, within four years, they had reached a settlement, tobacco company documents were made public, and all the states involved had received funds. The Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Lung Association, and Heart & Stroke have released a joint letter calling on Canada's premiers urging them to provide an update on the negotiations. Sarah Butson, who leads Advocacy and Public Affairs with the Canadian Lung Association, joins Steve Paikin to mark the WHO's No Tobacco Day and discuss the importance for the settlement to include tobacco reduction measures.
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