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Nova Scotia has officially become the last province in Canada to proclaim legislation giving it the legal green light to sue tobacco companies for unlawful activities alleged to increase smoking rates. Minister of Health and Wellness Leo Glavine says the Tobacco Damages and Health-care Costs Recovery Act will enable the province to hold the tobacco industry accountable "for fraud, deception and conspiracy that led to addiction and illness among Nova Scotians."
The province has joined British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island to bring collective action against at least three tobacco companies - Imperial Tobacco Canada, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and JTI-MacDonald Corp. - for actions dating back to the 1950s in some cases. Many of those provinces have already filed statements of claim with the courts. Nova Scotia expects to do so by the end of the year.
There...