The Supreme Court of Canada slammed the door shut on foreign tobacco companies' efforts to be excluded from the province of British Columbia's suit to recover billions of dollars in costs for treating smoking diseases.

The high court refused to hear an appeal by four American and four British companies of a British Columbia court decision that they can be held liable even if they did not directly sell tobacco products in the province. The Supreme Court had already ruled unanimously in 2005 that Canada's constitution allows British Columbia to sue the companies.  The eight companies – some of which are holding companies and were not involved in the 2005 case – then moved on to another track and sought to show that the British Columbia courts have no jurisdiction over them.
Four of the other nine provinces have brought forward legislation similar to British Columbia's to allow them to go after the tobacco companies. If all provinces did so, claims across Canada could total as much as C$ 80 billion (US$ 70 billion).  
The Supreme Court gave no reasons for its decision, but the federal government had submitted written arguments saying the tobacco industry was seeking to go over much the same ground as in the 2005 case. The tobacco companies said in their written arguments that it was important to get the question of going after global companies right, as it had implications far beyond tobacco.
A British Columbia court will now have to begin considering the substance of the case – whether the tobacco industry did wrong and if so how much it should have to pay.
The foreign companies that applied to the Supreme Court are BAT Industries Plc and its subsidiary British American Tobacco (Investments) Ltd., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco International Inc., Philip Morris International Inc. and Philip Morris Inc., Carreras Rothmans Ltd, and Ryesekks Plc.