Two tobacco producers are taking Ottawa to court for failing to collect taxes from illegal smoke shacks, reports The Canadian Press.

In a class-action lawsuit, launched on 29 October in Federal Court, Ontario-based tobacco producers Stanley and Linda Koscik and Weninger Farms Ltd. accuse both the federal government of Ottawa and provincial governments in Ontario of "knowingly and deliberately" failing to collect taxes from illegal smoke shacks.
The CAD 500-million (EUR 354-million) suit claims the government ignored “flagrant violations” of the prohibition on the sale of contraband tobacco and allowed the open trade of these products on First Nation reserves through illegal outlets established off reserve.
The proposed class-action lawsuit, filed in Federal Court on behalf of all tobacco producers, is similar to another suit filed last year in Ontario Superior Court by the same group.
The Canadian Convenience Stores Association says close to 350 smoke shacks in Ontario and Quebec are making it difficult for convenience store owners to compete and many retailers are simply closing their doors. (pi)