Three of the major tobacco companies offered nearly $25 billion to Canadian provinces and territories and about $4.3 billion to around 100,000 smokers in Quebec and their loved ones as part of a corporate restructuring stemming from a lengthy legal battle and as part of a comprehensive $32.5 billion settlement.

The three companies, "JTI-Macdonald Corp" (جاي تي آي ماكدونالد) , "Rothmans, Benson & Hedges" (روثمانز، بينسون أند هيدجز) , and "Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd" (إمبيريال توباكو كندا) submitted a proposed arrangement plan in a court in Ontario yesterday after more than five years of negotiations with their creditors.

The companies sought creditor protection in Ontario court in early 2019 after losing an appeal in a historic legal battle in Quebec.

The Ontario court suspended all legal proceedings against the companies while they sought to reach an agreement with their creditors, including plaintiffs in two class action lawsuits in Quebec and provincial governments seeking to recover healthcare costs associated with smoking.

Under the proposed plan submitted to the court yesterday, provinces and territories will receive payments over time, with nearly $6 billion paid upon the agreement's execution.

Plaintiffs in Quebec are claiming damages of up to $100,000 each.

The proposed plan also includes more than $2.5 billion for smokers in other provinces and territories who were diagnosed with lung cancer, throat cancer, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease between March 2015 and March 2019. They will be eligible for up to $60,000 each.

Bruce W. Johnston, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys in Quebec, said that the proposal from the three companies is "historic and unprecedented" because it allows for compensation for smokers and also for governments.

"When we took this case, no plaintiff had received a single penny from a tobacco company," Johnston said yesterday.

"We took on this case in 1998, and as a result of our case, not only will tens of thousands of tobacco victims, most of whom are in Quebec, receive compensation from the tobacco industry in Canada, but also governments will share $24 billion," Johnston added.

Johnston noted that plaintiffs have endured long delays and that they can now finally see that there is "likely a light at the end of the tunnel" and that they "will receive compensation."

He added that although many members of the class action have passed away before they could receive financial compensation from the tobacco companies, their heirs, and in some cases the heirs of their heirs, will be entitled to the compensation.

The offer also includes that tobacco companies will pay more than $1 billion to an institution combating smoking-related diseases. This amount includes $131 million taken from the funds allocated for the plaintiffs in Quebec.

The proposed offer must pass through several stages before it is implemented, including a creditors' vote and court approval.