Frequently Asked Questions

In the Quebec tobacco class action lawsuits, tobacco victims are represented by the law firm Trudel Johnston & Lespérance (“TJL”). TJL has recruited the firms Fishman Flanz Meland Paquin (“FFMP”), Kugler Kandestin (“KK”) and De Grandpré Chait.

In the CQTS-Blais class action lawsuit, Proactio’s primary role as agent is to help members prepare their claims and submit them to the administrator. This also involves keeping members informed of the latest news regarding the class action and answering their questions.

Epiq is the administrator of the Class Action Administration Plan in Quebec.

Its role is to receive claims from class action members, verify the validity of claims, and distribute compensation.

Proactio will therefore submit members’ claim files to Epiq, the claims administrator.

Epiq is also the administrator and agent for the PCC Compensation Plan.

It is not necessary to retain a lawyer or a notary to claim.

Should legal questions arise, Proactio will be able to contact class counsel to obtain the appropriate advice for you, at no additional cost to members.

We also have in-house notaries to assist you with questions you may have regarding non-litigious estates, also at no charge to members.

Being registered with Proactio, we’ll be able to support you in preparing your claim file. We’ll help you complete your claim form, provide access to a commissioner for oaths free of charge for signing the form, and then submit your claim file to the administrator, Epiq.

In addition, if you have a Proactio file, we will, whenever possible, verify your diagnosis with the Québec Cancer Registry and MED-ECHO.

To register, fill in the short quiz that will take you to the right registration form.

The questionnaire is available here.

There is no deadline to register. You can do so until the end of the claims period. However, sign up as soon as possible so we can offer you the best possible support.

To register, fill in the short quiz that will take you to the correct form.

The questionnaire is available here.

To check if you are registered, send us an email specifying whether you are the person who has been diagnosed with a smoking-related illness or whether you represent the estate of one of a tobacco victim.

In the email, also include the full name, date of birth and Quebec health insurance number of the person diagnosed with a smoking-related illness.

To update your registration information, send us an email with your full name, file number and the information you wish to update.

If you don’t have a file number, please provide us with the date of birth and health insurance number of the person diagnosed with a smoking-related illness, so that we can trace the file.

If you don’t have the health insurance number either, please provide us with the full name of the mother (name at birth) of the person diagnosed with a smoking-related illness.

If you have started your sign-up form and couldn’t complete it, send us an email with the health insurance number of the person diagnosed with a smoking-related illness so we can trace the file and let you know what to do.

Only one Proactio file can be opened per tobacco victim. One person must be responsible for signing up on behalf of the victim’s estate.

Therefore, you do not need to fill out a sign-up form for each heir. All heirs will benefit from the efforts of the person who completed the sign-up to open a Proactio file.

The contact person for the file will be responsible for signing the claim form and providing all documents related to the estate.

We can help you sign up even if you do not have the health insurance number of your deceased loved one.

To open a Proactio file without a health insurance number, please call us at 1-888-880-1844 and a member of our team will open your file.

People who have an open file but do not have the Québec health insurance number of the tobacco victim will receive an email from us in the coming weeks. This email will invite them to send us the necessary consent so we can obtain the number on their behalf.

f you need help filling in the sign-up form to open a Proactio file, send us an email with the following information:

• Your full name;
• The tobacco victim’s full name;
• Date of death;
• Province or territory of death;
• The smoking-related disease diagnosed;
• Date of diagnosis.

You can also call us at 1 888 880 1844 with this information in hand. We have a dedicated team to assist you in this process.

If you haven’t received a confirmation after submitting your sign-up form, please check your spam folder. If you still can’t find a confirmation, send us an email at [email protected].

We are currently receiving a high volume of requests. You don’t have to write us again; we will answer all requests in the order in which they were received.

You can also check your spam folder.

Most error messages are due to very high traffic. Try returning to the form at another time. You should then be able to complete and submit it.

If the problem is still not resolved, don’t hesitate to send us an email with a screenshot, if possible, to [email protected].

The information you provide at the registration stage enables us to gather all the essential information we need to complete your claim file.

All this information will be reproduced in your claim form, and all you have to do is sign it in front of one of Proactio’s commissioners of oaths.

You must fill in the supplemental form in order to complete the information in your file.

To access the form, click on the link provided in the email you received. This link will take you directly to your supplemental form.

If the link does not work, copy the link and paste it into your browser’s address bar. Make sure to copy the entire link.

It is very important to complete the form before the deadline indicated in the email. After the deadline, the link will no longer work, and we will have to send you a new one.

To access the supplemental form, you will need the file number (example: CAS-127817-P6X7T5) and the health insurance card number of the tobacco victim (example: ABCD12341234).

Make sure to enter both numbers exactly as shown in the examples. Do not add spaces in the health insurance number or remove the dashes in the file number. Otherwise, you will be redirected to an error page, and you will need to start over.

If you are missing either the file number or the health insurance number, we can send you the missing information by email. This only applies if you are missing one of them.

For security reasons, send us an email including the first and last name of the tobacco victim, their date of birth and their date of death.

If you do not have both the file number and the health insurance number, you must call us at 1 888 880-1844 for assistance. This is a security measure.

No, the form does not save your answers if you leave it before completing and submitting it.

Make sure you have enough time to fill out the entire form in one sitting. Otherwise, you will have to start over from the beginning.

In order to qualify for compensation under the tobacco class actions, you must have:

1. Smoked at least 87,600 cigarettes manufactured by Imperial Tobacco, RBH or JTI-MacDonald between January 1, 1950 and November 20, 1998.
   For example:
   20 cigarettes a day for 12 years (20 x 365 x 12 = 87,600 cigarettes); or
   10 cigarettes a day for 24 years (10 x 365 x 24 = 87,600 cigarettes).
2. Been diagnosed before March 12, 2012 with one of the following diseases:
   – Primary lung cancer;
   – Primary squamous cell cancer of the throat (larynx, oropharynx or hypopharynx); or
   – Emphysema or COPD (GOLD Grades 3 or 4)
3. Been a Quebec resident at the time of your diagnosis with the tobacco-related illness.

The heirs of a tobacco victim meeting these 3 criteria are also entitled to compensation if the victim died after November 20, 1998.

Canadian smokers or ex-smokers who were diagnosed between March 8, 2015 and March 8, 2019, may be eligible for compensation under the Pan-Canadian Claimant Compensation Plan.

In order to qualify for a compensation, a smoker or ex-smoker must have been diagnosed in Quebec before March 12, 2012 with one of the following diseases:

1. Primary lung cancer;
2. Primary throat cancer, specifically squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, oropharynx or hypopharynx; or
3. Emphysema.

Canadian smokers or ex-smokers who were diagnosed between March 8, 2015 and March 8, 2019, may be eligible for compensation under the Pan-Canadian Claimant Compensation Plan.

Primary cancer specifies the organ in which it first appeared.

Secondary cancer implies that the initially localized cancer has metastasized and spread to one or more other organs.

For example, kidney cancer initially develops in the tissues of the kidney. It may then metastasize and develop in the lungs.

In this example, even though cancer cells may have developed in the lungs, the cancer is NOT considered a primary lung cancer. It is a primary kidney cancer and is therefore not covered by the class action.

The term “throat” is regularly used, but it is not a medical term.
What we commonly call “throat” actually refers to different parts of the upper aerodigestive tract, not all of which are covered by the class action.

• The oral cavity is not included, while the larynx is.
• 2 of the 3 parts of the pharynx, the hypopharynx and oropharynx, are included.
• Furthermore, the oropharynx contains several structures, including the base of the tongue (posterior third of the tongue).
  However, the anterior two-thirds of the tongue–also known as the “body of the tongue”–is rather considered a structure of the oral cavity. This portion of the tongue is therefore not covered by the class action, whereas the posterior third is.

So, if you have throat cancer, check which diagnosis you’ve received.
If you’re not sure, register anyway. We will then be able, if possible, to verify the diagnosis with the Québec Cancer Registry.

Emphysema is a degenerative disease that occurs when lung tissue breaks down and loses its elasticity.

Emphysema, chronic bronchitis and asthma are part of what is known as chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (“COPD“).

These three diseases are distinct but overlap considerably. They are all characterized by shortness of breath, chronic cough and increased sputum production.

The current trend in the medical profession is to diagnose COPD as opposed to emphysema. As clinical habits have changed over time, it is possible that a diagnosis of COPD is in fact emphysema. The GOLD classification of COPD may give an indication since stages 3 or 4 of COPD are often emphysema.

No, as defined in the CQTS-Blais class action, a diagnosis of emphysema made during the relevant period is sufficient to meet the eligibility criterion relating to the diagnosis.

There is no grade associated with emphysema, although there is for COPD. Thus, the need to have reached GOLD grades 3 or 4 is linked only to a diagnosis of COPD.

There are two plans that provide for the compensation of tobacco victims within the Plan of arrangement and compromise proposed in the CCAA proceedings against tobacco companies:

1. Quebec Class Action Administration Plan, which provides for the compensation of members of the CQTS-Blais class action for victims diagnosed before March 12, 2012. For more details, see the explanations on our website: Quebec class action administration plan – Recours tabac.
2. Pan-Canadian Claimant Compensation Plan, which provides compensation to tobacco victims diagnosed between March 8, 2015, and March 8, 2019 (inclusive). For more details, see the explanations on our website: Tobacco Claims Canada – Home.

There are two separate monetary envelopes for these two plans.

You will be able to prove the date of initiation of smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked by means of an affidavit stating that the information you have provided in the claim form is true. This way, you won’t have to provide documents such as receipts or photos.

Proactio will have commissioners of oaths who can swear you in to sign the claim form.

87,600 cigarettes in fact correspond to 12 pack-years. The pack-year is a unit of measure to calculate the smoking history of a smoker or ex-smoker, based on American packs of cigarettes which have 20 cigarettes per pack, whereas there are 25 cigarettes per pack in Canada.

87,600 cigarettes could be, for example:

• 20 cigarettes a day for 12 years:
  (20 × 365 × 12 = 87,600 cigarettes);
• 10 cigarettes a day for 24 years:
  (10 × 365 × 24 = 87,600 cigarettes);
• 10 cigarettes a day for 4 years, then 20 cigarettes a day for 6 years and, finally, 40 cigarettes a day for 2 years, or even;
• 10 cigarettes a day for 2 years, 20 cigarettes a day for 5 years, no cigarettes at all for one year and then 20 cigarettes a day for 6 years.

According to the definition of the class, only the cigarettes smoked on or before November 20, 1998 can be calculated in your smoking history. This means that any cigarette smoked in the past 25 (almost 26) years does not count.

A smoking history might be hard to calculate because of how much time has passed since then and because you think of cigarettes smoked in terms of 25-cigarette packs.

Don’t worry, though, once it is time to claim, we will help you figure out the relevant smoking history.

The brands of cigarettes sold by the Imperial Tobacco, RBH or JTI-MacDonal between January 1, 1950 and November 20, 1998 were:

• Accord
• B&H
• Belmont
• Belvedere
• Camel
• Cameo
• Craven “A”
• Craven “M”
• Du Maurier
• Dunhill
• Export
• LD
• Macdonald
• Mark Ten
• Matinee
• Medallion
• More
• North American Spirit
• Number 7
• Peter Jackson
• Players
• Rothmans
• Vantage
• Viscount
• Winston

These brands include all their sub-brands of cigarettes, like John Player’s Special or Rothmans Special.

If you currently reside, or if the tobacco victim died, in a Canadian province or territory other than Quebec, please contact the Claims Agent for the Pan-Canadian Tobacco Compensation Plan:

Tobacco Claims Agent
c/o Les services d’actions collectives Epiq Canada Inc.
P.O. Box 507, Station B
Ottawa ON K1P 5P6
Toll-free number (in Canada) : 1-888-482-5852
Email: [email protected]

This date is not random, as it marks the filing of the initial class action claim. In 2005, the judge who authorized the class action first determined that a member had to be alive when the action was filed, that is, on November 20, 1998. This date was then retained in the Superior Court judgment in 2015, and was subsequently confirmed by the Quebec Court of Appeal on March 1, 2019.

The heirs of a tobacco victim are:

1. The persons named in the deceased’s will, or;
2. The persons determined by law, if the deceased left no will.

To better understand who the heirs of a deceased person are, watch this explanatory video:

The heirs of a tobacco victim are:

1. The people named as heirs or universal legatees in the victim’s will; or
2. People determined by law, if the victim left no will.

The “heirs of the heirs” are defined in the same way, so the persons named in the will or the legal heirs of a deceased heir will be “the heirs of the heirs”, who are eligible for the class action.

When the victim has not left a will, the law determines who the heirs are.

• The law provides for the following orders of heirs:
• The married spouse and descendants;
• In the absence of a spouse, only the descendants;
• If there are no descendants, but the deceased was married, the married spouse and the deceased’s parents;
• In the absence of descendants and parents, but if the deceased was married, the married spouse and the deceased’s siblings;
• In the absence of descendants and spouse, the parents and siblings of the deceased;
• In the absence of descendants, spouse and parents, siblings only, and vice versa.

Someone who has renounced the tobacco victim’s estate before a notary has lost his status as heir.

However, the renunciation must have been signed before a notary and published in the RDPRM to be valid.

You may retract your renunciation under certain conditions. See the following question on this subject.

You may retract your renunciation under two conditions:

1. Less than 10 years have elapsed since the day the tobacco victim died;
2. No one else has accepted the estate.

If you meet these criteria, the renunciation will have to be signed before a notary, which will incur fees.

To assess the impact of retracting your renunciation in your specific case, consult a notary who can assist you with this process.

Contact us, and a notary from the Proactio team will answer your questions and help you with the next steps!

Renunciation of an estate must be published in the Register of Personal and Movable Real Rights (“RDPRM”).

You can check whether your renunciation has been published by entering the name and date of birth of the deceased in the RDPRM.

Visit the website Consultation assistée RDPRM, enter the name and date of birth of the deceased under the heading “Personne physique”, pay the fee of $12 and you’ll get your result.

You must contact the Directeur de l’état civil to obtain a death certificate or a copy of an act of death. The way to complete the application and the documents required differ depending on your relationship to the person concerned by the copy of the death certificate or the certificate. It is therefore important to carefully read the questions and answers as they explain the details on how to proceed with applications related to the class action lawsuits.

In addition, we prioritize requests for copies of death certificates, as they contain more information and may save you from having to provide additional documents, which could be more advantageous for you.

Anyone with an interest as determined by the Directeur de l’état civil may request a death certificate or a copy of an act of death.

The following persons may make a request without providing supporting documents:

• The father,
• the mother,
• the child,
• the brother or sister,
• the spouse or civil union partner (common-law partners are excluded),
• the person who reported the death (the person who signed the death certificate following the death or accompanied the funeral director).

If you are one of these individuals, submit your request online via the ClicSÉQUR portal: DEClic!Online application for a certificate or copy of an act. This will allow you to track the status of your request.

If you are not one of the persons mentioned above, you will need to provide certain documents to establish to the Directeur de l’état civil your interest in obtaining the requested document. This applies if you are, for example, the common-law spouse, uncle or aunt, grandparent, grandchild, etc.

In this case, you must complete the PDF version of the Application for a death certificate or copy of a death record, print, sign, and send it by mail to the following address:

Directeur de l’état civil
Tobacco Class Action
2535 Laurier Boulevard, 4th floor
Québec (Québec), G1V 5C6

Be sure to indicate in Box 11 of Section 1 of the form: “Information on the applicant” that your request concerns the Tobacco Class Action, as follows in yellow:

If you need assistance with your application for a certificate or copy of a document, please contact the Director de l’état civil’s call centre at one of the following numbers:

Montreal: 450-644-4545 or 514-644-4545
Other regions of Quebec: 1-877-644-4545 (toll-free)
Outside Quebec: 1-418-644-4545 (charges apply)

If you are the father, mother, child, brother, sister, spouse, civil union partner, or person who reported the death, you do not need to include any documents with your request.

If you are not one of these people, you will need to attach documents proving your relationship to the deceased or your interest in receiving a death certificate or record, including:

• A legible photocopy of a valid photo ID;
• Valid proof of residence;
• A complete copy of the notarized will showing that you are an heir;
• The will and the probate judgment showing that you are an heir;
• A declaration of inheritance signed before a notary showing that you are an heir;
• A notarized deed of appointment of the executor indicating that you are the executor;
• An explanation of the line of succession detailing the persons entitled to inherit, including you;
• Any other relevant documents.

For more information on the documents to include, contact the Directeur de l’état civil ‘s call centre at one of the following numbers:

Montreal: 450-644-4545 or 514-644-4545
Other regions of Quebec: 1-877-644-4545 (toll-free)
Outside Quebec: 1-418-644-4545 (charges apply)

If the reason for the refusal is that you did not provide an official document proving your interest in obtaining the civil status document requested, you may resubmit your request by following these steps:

Complete the PDF version of the Application for a Death Certificate or Copy of a Death Certificate. Be sure to indicate in Box 11 of Section 1 of the form: “Information about the person making the request” that your request concerns the Tobacco Class Action, as follows in yellow:

Once completed, print, sign, and mail it to the following address:

Directeur de l’état civil
Tobacco Class Action
2535 Laurier Boulevard, 4th floor
Quebec City, Quebec, G1V 5C6

Please include the following documents:

• A legible photocopy of a valid photo ID;
• Valid proof of residence;
• A complete copy of the notarized will showing that you are the heir;
• The will and the probate judgment showing that you are the heir;
• A declaration of inheritance signed before a notary showing that you are the heir;
• A notarized deed of appointment of the executor indicating that you are the executor;
• An explanation of the line of succession detailing the persons entitled to inherit, including you;
• Any other relevant documents.

You will need to provide:

1. The death certificate or the copy of the act from the Directeur de l’état civil;
2. Will search from the Chambre des notaires du Québec and the Barreau du Québec;
3. Notarized will, or a judgment confirming the probate of a will if it is not notarized.

Yes, but the holographic will and the will made before witnesses must be accompanied by the judgment of the court or the notary’s minutes of the probate confirming that the will has been probated.

Unlike a notarized will, a holographic will and a will made before witnesses must be probated by a notary or the court in order to be valid.

The notary or court will verify that the will complies with the conditions laid down by law and will inform all the persons named in the will as well as those who would have inherited in the absence of a will.

You will need to provide:

1. The death certificate or the copy of the act from the Directeur de l’état civil;
2. Will search from the Chambre des notaires du Québec and the Barreau du Québec;
3. The declaration of heirship or the birth certificates or marriage certificate, as the case may be, of the legal heirs, to establish the link between the victim and his or her heir.

No, the document from the funeral home will not be accepted as proof of death.

The only proof of death accepted for the purposes of the class action will be the death certificate or the copy of the act of death. Both of these documents are issued by the Directeur de l’état civil.

If you need to order the document, prefer the copy of the death certificate, as it contains more information about the tobacco victim, including their civil status. For example, if you were married to the tobacco victim, this copy would prove it without the need to provide a marriage certificate.

To order your copy of the death certificate: Directeur de l’état civil – Home

To order your copy of the death certificate: Directeur de l’état civil – Home

If you need to order the document, prefer the copy of the death certificate, as it contains more information about the tobacco victim.

Even if you believe you have the last will and testament, will searches will confirm this officially.
These two documents will show that there is no more recent will signed before a notary or lawyer by the date indicated on these searches.

Will searches allow you to prove that you are an heir to the estate by confirming the validity of the will that names you.

There are two will search you must obtain: one from the Barreau du Québec and one from the Chambre des notaires du Québec.

The Quebec Bar and the Chambre des notaires du Québec will soon offer a centralized web solution that will simplify the process by allowing you to obtain both will searches in a single request.

To avoid an overload of requests during this transition, it is recommended that you request your will searches starting September 15, 2025.

From that date, you will be able to submit your request at the following link: Search in the Quebec registers of wills and mandates.

We have been assured that the Quebec Bar and the Chambre des notaires du Québec are actively working to process applications as quickly as possible, although delays are temporarily longer than normal due to the exceptional volume of requests related to the tobacco class action.

Longer than normal delays are temporarily to be expected, particularly due to the exceptional volume of search requests related to the tobacco class action.

The Chambre des notaires du Québec and the Quebec Bar have assured us that measures are in place to respond effectively to requests and that they are actively working to return to a more normal processing time. We therefore ask for your patience with these two organizations.

Even if you have already submitted your registration form or supplemental form, rest assured that you can still send us your documents via our secure drop box:

You can contact the notary who prepared the will to obtain a copy.

If you do not know which notary prepared the will, will searches will provide the contact information of person to talk to about getting a certified copy of the will.

If someone named in the will presents the death certificate and the will search results to the notary who received the will, the notary can issue a certified copy.

Please note that the preparation of a certified copy by the notary will incur fees, which may vary from one notary to another.

No, the liquidator of the estate is the person who must open a Proactio file and sign the claim form.

The liquidator is the person designated in a deceased person’s will to carry out all the steps involved in liquidating an estate, paying creditors and distributing the money to the heirs. In the absence of a will, the liquidator is the person designated by the heirs to perform these tasks.

If the estate has been closed, meaning that the liquidator is no longer in function and the estate bank account has been closed, the compensation will be divided among the heirs in the proportions specified in the will or by law, if applicable.

Therefore, you will not need to reopen an estate account because the checks will be sent directly to the heirs.

If the liquidator is still in charge, they must submit the claim on behalf of the estate.

This way, the administrator of the claim can issue a single check in the name of the estate, which will be sent to the liquidator to be deposited into the estate account. This will reduce the number of requests for information and documents you will need to provide.

The power of attorney may be signed privately or notarized. In all cases, the document must contain the following information:

• The date of signature;
• The name and address of the mandator (the person granting power of attorney to another person);
• The name and address of the mandatary (the person who will have the power to act);
• A description of the mandatary’s powers;
  For example: I authorize my representative to exchange information and respond to any request on my behalf for class action against tobacco companies and to sign, on my behalf, any document related to the class action. In particular, they may sign the sworn statement on my behalf as part of my claim.
• The mandator’s signature.

The document must be sent to us via secure filing: Secure Filing for Documents | Tobacco Class Action

Using the diagnostic information from the Québec Cancer Registry, MED‑ECHO, and the RAMQ, we will confirm the diagnosis in your file, if possible.

If we are unable to confirm the diagnosis, we will contact you by email to inform you of the results of our verification and the need to obtain proof of diagnosis.

If you have reported more than one diagnosis, medical proof will be requested for the diagnosis that allows you to receive the highest benefit.

If you have received an email from Proactio indicating that the primary cancer diagnosis, made before March 12, 2012, could not be confirmed by the Quebec Cancer Registry, you must send us one of the following valid proofs:

1. Pathology report: a copy of the report made before March 12, 2012;
2. Physician’s form: the following form completed by a physician: (Physician form). The physician must attach one of the documents mentioned to the form.
3. Medical record extract: an extract from the medical record confirming the diagnosis before March 12, 2012.
4. A written statement from a physician: a written statement from a physician with access to the medical records confirming the diagnosis prior to March 12, 2012, which must be accompanied by at least one of the following documents dated before March 12, 2012:

• • A pathology report;
  • A biopsy report;
  • A surgical protocol;
  • An MRI report;
  • A CT scan report;
  • A positron emission tomography (PET scan) report;
  • An X-ray report;
  • A sputum cytology report.

If you have received an email from Proactio informing you that the diagnosis of emphysema or COPD made before March 12, 2012, could not be confirmed by MED-ECHO data, you will need to send us one of the following valid pieces of evidence:

1. Spirometry test report: a copy of the test report performed before March 12, 2012, showing a (non-reversible) FEV1 of less than 50% of the predicted value.
2. Physician’s form: the following form completed by a physician: (Physician form). The physician must attach one of the documents mentioned to the form.
3. Medical record extract: an extract from the medical record confirming the diagnosis before March 12, 2012.
4. Written statement from a physician: a written statement from a physician who has had access to the medical file, confirming a diagnosis made before March 12, 2012. This statement must be accompanied by at least one of the following documents, dated before March 12, 2012:

• • a spirometry report;
  • a CT scan report.

You must submit your request to the medical clinic or hospital where the diagnosis was made. For hospitals, contact the archives department of the CISSS, CIUSSS, or facility concerned.

Fees may apply for obtaining medical documents.

You will need to submit the proof of diagnosis via the secure document submission system:

Yes. The healthcare facility (clinic or hospital) may request certain estate documents. Heirs and the liquidator may access a deceased person’s medical records if the information is necessary to exercise their rights.

To do so, you will need to provide the death certificate, will searches and the will.

If there is no will, you can present proof of your relationship to the deceased or any other document required by medical personnel.

If you are unable to provide proof of diagnosis, your file will be incomplete and we will not be able to submit your claim to the administrator.

Proactio’s role is not to make the decision. Therefore, if you believe you are entitled to compensation and wish to pursue your claim, you can submit it directly to the claims administrator, whose contact details are:

Epiq Canada Inc. Class Action Services
Toll-free number (in Canada): 1-888-482-5852
Email: [email protected]
Website:Tobacco Claims Canada – Home

Our team will be able to answer your questions. For assistance, please email us at the following address: [email protected].

Please indicate in the subject line of your email: Directive required for diagnostic evidence.

According to the Quebec Plan of Arrangement and Plan of Administration, the financial compensation provided is as follows:

In the event that the $4,119 billion is insufficient to pay the maximum compensations to those with valid claims, compensations will be adjusted downwards on a pro rata basis.

It is impossible to know at this time the indemnity payable to each of the class members. It will only be known at the end of the Claims Process, because it will depend on how many class members claim the indemnity to which they are entitled.

If a tobacco victim has been diagnosed with more than one compensable disease, they or their estate will receive only one compensation for the compensable disease associated with the highest payment in the scale of compensation provided in the Quebec Administration Plan.

There is only one compensation per tobacco victim under the Quebec Administration Plan. The heirs of a tobacco victim who meets the criteria will therefore share among themselves the compensation to which the victim would have been entitled.

Only one person will be responsible for registering the claim in the name of the tobacco victim’s estate, and for submitting the claim.

The compensation in the tobacco class action will not be taxable, as it will not be considered “income”.

In fact, compensation received as damages for personal injury is generally excluded from the calculation of income. For more information in this regard, you can consult the following documents:

1. Canada Revenue Agency bulletin IT 365R2 (see paragraph #5);
2. Revenu Québec’s bulletin, which mentions the same thing.

The compensation will have no impact on your Québec Pension Plan benefits or Old Age Security pension, as it will not be considered “income”.

For more information on the Quebec Pension Plan, see:
https://www.quebec.ca/en/employment/plan-manage-career/plan-retirement/quebec-pension-plan

For more information on the Old Age Security pension, see:
Old Age Security – Canada.ca

Like the Quebec Class Action Administration Plan, the Pan-Canadian Claimants Compensation Plan (RP Compensation Plan) is part of the Plan of arrangement.

The PCC Compensation Plan sets out the process by which some Canadian tobacco victims and, in some instances, their heirs may submit a claim for compensation pursuant to CCAA proceedings.

To qualify to receive compensation through the PCC Compensation Plan, an individual must meet the following criteria:

1. You currently reside in Canada;
2. Between January 1, 1950, and November 20, 1998, you smoked a minimum of 87,600 cigarettes (also called “Twelve Pack-Years”) sold by the Tobacco Companies
3. Between March 8, 2015, and March 8, 2019 (inclusively), you were diagnosed with:
   • Lung cancer, or
   • Throat cancer (larynx, oropharynx or hypopharynx), or
   • Emphysema/COPD (GOLD Grade III or IV); and
4. On the date of the diagnosis with lung cancer, throat cancer or Emphysema/COPD (GOLD Grade III or IV), you resided in one of the Provinces or Territories.

If a smoker was alive on March 8, 2019, and met the PCC eligibility criteria above, but is now deceased and resided in a province or territory on the date of death, his or her estate may be entitled to receive money under the PCC Compensation Plan.

No, if you only meet the eligibility criteria for the PCC Compensation Plan, you will need to contact Epiq for assistance in submitting your claim.

Epiq, like Proactio, has been appointed as an agent to assist members in submitting their claims.

Tobacco Claims Agent
c/o Epiq Class Action Services Canada Inc.
P.O. Box 507 STN B
Ottawa ON K1P 5P6
Toll-Free (in Canada) : 1-888-482-5852
Email: [email protected]
Website: tobaccoclaimscanada.ca

The amount of money a Pan-Canadian Claimant may qualify for will depend upon several factors, including: the number of individuals in Canada who meet the PCC Eligibility Criteria, the type of diagnosis, and when the Pan-Canadian Claimant started smoking. These factors all impact the amount of money a claimant who meets all PCC Eligibility Criteria will ultimately receive.

If a claimant has been diagnosed with more than one compensable disease, they will receive only one compensation for the compensable disease associated with the highest payment in the scale of compensation provided in the PCC Compensation Plan.

Maximum payments to claimants who meet all PCC eligibility criteria will be based on the scale shown in the table below, but may be lower if the number of claims accepted is higher than anticipated:

If you have questions about the Pan-Canadian Claimant Compensation Plan, please contact Epiq.

Tobacco Claims Agent
c/o Epiq Class Action Services Canada Inc.
P.O. Box 507 STN B
Ottawa ON K1P 5P6
Toll-Free (in Canada) : 1-888-482-5852
Email: [email protected]
Website: tobaccoclaimscanada.ca

CCAA stands for Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

The CCAA allows a company with significant debts to continue to operate and reorganize itself in order for it to be able to pay its debts in part and avoid the disastrous consequences of bankruptcy.

The court grants the company protection in the form of a stay of proceedings against the company, so that it can negotiate a compromise with the people to whom it owes money (i.e., its “creditors“).

The purpose of the stay of proceedings under the CCAA is to give a company time to reorganize or negotiate with its creditors so that it can pay its debts and stay in business.

The purpose of this stay of proceedings is to allow negotiations with all the creditors of the company that has placed itself under the CCAA’s protection. The stay of proceedings makes it possible to negotiate a global settlement for all claims against it.

No. Although the defendant tobacco companies have filed for the CCAA’s protection, they are not bankrupt.