Ontario pushes B.C. to lighten up on tobacco Antismoking smoking legislation could hurt Ontario economy, minister says

Richard Mackie, Queen's Park Bureau

Globe and Mail, 23 February 1999

Toronto - The Ontario government has gone to bat for the tobacco industry, asking British Columbia to water down its tough new antismoking legislation.

"Industry and investment in (Ontario) may experience serious adverse effects" from the legislation, Agriculture Minister Noble Villeneuve said in a letter sent to his B.C. counterpart, Corky Evans, last month.

Officials in Mr. Evans's office did not return phone calls (22 Feb/99).

Mr. Villeneuve sent copies of the letter to Donald Brown, chairman of Montreal-based Imperial Tobacco Ltd., and to Frank Menich, chairman of the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board.

A spokesman for the antismoking organizations in B.C. scoffed at the letter.

The letter shows that Mr. Villeneuve "is clearly an ignorant person on tobacco issues," said Gerald Bonham, a director of the B.C. division of the Canadian Cancer Society and the B.C. Cancer Agency. "What's he doing trying to chase B.C. on that issue?"

The legislation, introduced in the last session of the legislature, would charge tobacco companies licence fees to sell their products.

The law, designed to put $20 million annually in provincial coffers to finance the government's anti-tobacco efforts, forbids tobacco companies from passing the cost of the licences on to wholesalers, retailers, or consumers.

In the letter, Mr. Villeneuve warned that as a result of B.C.'s antismoking package, "the unimpeded flow of goods between provinces may be compromised, thereby creating a situation perhaps inconsistent with trade obligations specified under the Agreement on Internal Trade."

He also argued that "any initiative that has the potential to increase retail prices of tobacco products also risks fostering an environment conducive to increased smuggling operations."

Mr. Bonham argued that there is little risk of cigarettes being smuggled into B.C. from neighbouring Washington state, because recent legal action against tobacco companies in the United States has pushed up tobacco prices south of the border.

For example, a pack of cigarettes costing $5.14 in British Columbia costs a Canadian-equivalent $5.60 in Washington state.

Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty noted that the Ontario government has refused to join a B.C. lawsuit attempting to recover from the tobacco companies the costs of providing health care to smokers harmed by tobacco. He said a Liberal government would join the suit.

The letter "is certainly troublesome for the health community," said Garfield Mahood, president of the Non-Smokers' Rights Association. He wondered whether the letter's support for the tobacco industry represents the government's position on whether steps should be taken to curb smoking.

"I's not a case of a cabinet minister protecting the interests of his constituents, but actually going out and trying to undermine health policy in other provinces," he said.

Mr. Mahood noted that while the chairman of the largest manufacturer in the cigarette industry received a copy of the letter, Health Minister Elizabeth Witmer, in charge of Ontario's antismoking efforts, did not.

A spokesman for Mr. Villeneuve defended the letter, saying it pointed out serious concerns about the B.C. legislation limiting interprovincial trade.

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