Tobacco Justice Class Action Website

Examples of Illegal Smoke Shacks in Ontario, Canada

Hydro Shack

Argyle

Broken Promises

Henhawk Shack

Plank Road 1 Stop Smoke Shop

Highway 6 Smoke Shop

On October 2, 2009 a class action was commenced under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, on the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in London, Ontario, on behalf of tobacco producers claiming damages for malfeasance in a public office and negligence against both the federal and provincial governments for their failure to stop the sale of illegal tobacco products.

As a result of the objection on the part of the federal government as to the jurisdiction of the Ontario courts, on October 29, 2010, a class action was commenced under the Federal Court Rules in the Federal Court of Canada in Toronto, Ontario, claiming malfeasance in a public office and negligence against the federal government for the failure of the agents of the federal government to stop the sale of illegal tobacco products.

It is the intention of the plaintiffs to discontinue with the claim against the federal government in the Ontario action and continue to proceed against the Ontario government.

The action has been brought by Weninger Farms Ltd. a tobacco producer in Oxford County, Ontario, and by Stanley and Linda Koscik, tobacco producers in Elgin County, Ontario. The plaintiffs are bringing these actions on their own behalf and on behalf of all those who were engaged in tobacco production in Canada from 2001 to the present.

The claims allege that the federal government has failed to enforce the provisions of the Excise Act, 2001 and the Excise Tax Act and that the provincial government has failed to enforce the provisions of the Tobacco Tax Act and the Retail Sales Tax Act and that the failure to do so has caused damage to the plaintiffs and the class who they represent.