Big Tobacco miffed over health committee snub, opposes plain packaging proposal
OTTAWA — Canada’s largest tobacco manufacturer says it is being treated unfairly after a government health committee refused to hear its input in person on proposed changes to smoking laws.
“How a committee can pass a tobacco bill without hearing from a tobacco company that has close to 50-per-cent market share is beyond us,” spokesman Eric Gagnon said Monday.
But the decision to exclude Imperial Tobacco boiled down to not having enough time to hear from everyone, said Marilyn Gladu, vice-chair of the House of Commons committee, adding that the company was invited to make a written submission.
“Too many witnesses, not enough panels,” said Gladu, a Conservative MP. “We had as much of a spectrum as we could.”