Harper Conservatives pressured to soften its support for Big Tobacco
TTAWA – The Harper Conservatives showed their support of the tobacco lobby yesterday by trying to weaken a bill aimed at banning flavoured cigarettes targeted to young people.
“Greed, not corporate survival, motivated Phillip Morris to engage in blackmail – and the Reform-Conservatives played along,” said Liberal MP Marlene Jennings.
After Phillip Morris threatened to close its Quebec City facility, the Conservatives put forward an amendment that would allow sugary and fruity-tasting products to be added to the cigarettes. Met with unanimous opposition, the Conservatives were forced to back down. This didn’t stop Minister Josée Verner from voicing Conservative support for Big Tobacco in the House of Commons yesterday, stating: “Our colleagues from Quebec, including myself are concerned about the [Tobacco] industry and we are trying to find a solution”.
Conservative MP Maxime Bernier also sided with Philip Morris International and its Canadian unit, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, in the dispute regarding cigarettes made with sweeteners such as licorice, cocoa or vanilla. After his party was forced to drop the issue, Mr. Bernier said he had no regrets for backing Big Tobacco: “I took a stand in favour of amendments to Bill C-32 in order to protect the freedom of choice of adult smokers.”
“As someone who has battled cigarette addiction, I can say that Mr. Bernier is getting his principles all wrong by kowtowing to threats from Phillip Morris,” said Ms. Jennings. “What ‘freedom of choice’ is he referring to? Freedom for our children to become addicted to this deadly habit?”
Liberal Health Critic Dr. Carolyn Bennett echoed opinions recently expressed by Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, who said that the Conservative amendment would have severely weakened the bill.
“This bill was designed to make cigarettes less attractive to young people and to protect our children from this deadly habit,” said Dr. Bennett. “The Conservatives wanted to water it down, all because Phillip Morris has them in their back pocket.
“It is ridiculous that in 2009, with everything that we know about the deadly effects of tobacco, we still had to fight the Reform-Conservatives on this,” she said. “Canadians deserve better than this government.”
