The minister of justice says he’s pleased to finally see a multi-billion dollar class action lawsuit settled, meaning that the provincial government stands to gain “a significant amount of money” over the coming years.
The class action was filed against the big three tobacco companies in Canada.
The $32.5 billion settlement means money will start flowing to the provinces, territories and individuals in compensation for the costs incurred to the health care system from the harms caused by the use of tobacco products.
What this province will receive remains to be seen, but the funds, when they start flowing, will be welcomed says Minister Bernard Davis.
“Any opportunity we can (get) to inject settlement money into our provincial coffers is a good day. We’re going to continue to work very hard on other (law)suits that we’re working through,” Minister Bernard Davis told reporters. “It’s been a long time coming, and it’s going to be a number of years to be paid out, so we’re excited about that revenue coming into the province, and it will be put to good use.”
