Government of Ontario lawsuit is "hypocrisy", says Imperial Tobacco Canada
Tobacco company sees attempted $50 billion cash grab by Ontario as political stunt, unrelated to addressing alleged health concerns
"We find it unbelievable that the Government of Ontario - a senior partner in the tobacco industry for more than 50 years - would use taxpayers' dollars to sue legal tobacco companies rather than invest in eliminating the contraband market which, today, accounts for almost 50 percent of the cigarettes purchased in Ontario," said Donald McCarty, Imperial Tobacco Canada's Vice President of Law.
Recent studies have shown that the huge increase in illegal cigarettes in Ontario seems to have ended the thirty year decline in smoking rates, and signal an increase in the amount of youth smoking illegal cigarettes.
"Why isn't the Ontario government going after the illegal manufacturers with the same zeal that it goes after the legal industry?" added
In launching its suit against tobacco companies, the Ontario government may wish to show voters that it is taking action on health care but, in reality, years of legal wrangling with regulated tobacco companies will do nothing to stem the tide of cheap and prevalent illegal tobacco products.
Ontario, like the federal government and all provincial governments, has known of the health risks associated with tobacco use for decades. The Government of Ontario will spend millions pursuing the legal companies that it regulates in what will ultimately be an unsuccessful grab for an even higher share of the industry's profits.
"We manufacture a legal product that is subject to unreasonably high taxation and we do this within tightly regulated parameters that are set by governments, including Ontario. In the fiscal year 2009, the government of Ontario pocketed more than
A release published by the Auditor General of Ontario in
For further information: Media Contact: Eric Gagnon Manager, External Communications, (514) 932-6161, ext. 2113
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