No Fair—They're Copying Us Again!

Today the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously approved a British Columbia law that authorizes the provincial government to demand compensation from tobacco companies for the cost of treating smoking-related diseases during the last 50 years. The law, which also rigs the rules for trying the case in the government's favor, is likely to encourage similar efforts by other provinces and similar shakedowns of other industries.

Before I'm accused of lecturing Canadians about the Canadian way of life, let me point out that in this case (as in the War on Fat) Canada is taking its cues from the U.S., where similar lawsuits by 46 states led to a 1998 settlement agreement in which the big tobacco companies got protection from liability and competition, the states got billions of dollars a year, and smokers got stuck with the bill. Colorado State Treasurer Mark Hillman recently made news by endorsing the Competive Enterprise Institute's effort to overturn the settlement as an unauthorized interstate compact that unconstitutionally usurps the powers of state legislatures and Congress.