His wife Monique was diagnosed on her birthday and died on July 3, 2005 – the couple’s 40th wedding anniversary. Months of debilitating chemotherapy treatments couldn’t stop the disease, which had quietly spread and taken root in her digestive system.
"Not only have we not received a cent, but absolutely nothing has changed," Duval, 80, wrote in French in a recent open letter to the Quebec government. "Cigarettes from these same manufacturers are sold across the province and in every corner of the country." A Quebec Superior Court judge first ordered the payment in 2015 after finding the three companies – Imperial Tobacco, JTI-Macdonald and Rothmans-Benson & Hedges – had chosen profits over the health of their customers.
The talks are confidential, and the participants have largely declined to comment on the proceedings. It's not just the delays that are problematic, but the entire creditor protection process and the secrecy it entails, said Flory Doucas, spokesperson and co-director of the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control.
Until recently, no provincial government had publicly indicated what it was seeking or expecting to receive as part of a settlement. Most reached by The Canadian Press in recent weeks declined to comment on the matter, citing the confidential nature of the negotiations. While the premier's comments offered a rare and welcome glimpse into the proceedings, they also confirmed the coalition's "worst fears" in terms of what a settlement could look like, Doucas said.
Last year, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Lung Association and the Heart and Stroke Foundation compiled a series of measures they believe should be in the settlement. Some of the proposed measures, such as releasing documents, wouldn't cost the companies anything, he noted.