By MPP Bobbi Ann Brady
As promised in my last newspaper column, I said I would highlight some of the Haldimand-Norfolk-relevant presentations from my travel with the Ontario Government’s Finance Committee as we conduct pre-budget consultations. Last week, while the committee was snowed in in Pembroke, seeing Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (RBH) appear before us was a reminder of home, where the tobacco industry has long been part of our local economy and rural heritage, supporting generations of farm families while continually navigating significant transition and change.
As the representative of Canada’s largest tobacco-growing region, my responsibility is to stand up for local producers who operate within a tightly regulated, legal market. Tobacco remains a lawful product in Canada, and while public health efforts rightly focus on reducing consumption, there remains a cadre of people who choose to use it. So long as that reality exists, I believe it is important that the economic benefits of the tobacco industry remain in our local communities.
The greatest threat to our legal tobacco industry is illegal and contraband tobacco, which is largely controlled by organized criminals who operate in sophisticated networks. Not only does this undermine legitimate farmers and businesses, but it also deprives communities of jobs and tax revenues while fueling other criminal activity like illegal guns, drugs and human trafficking. It is believed Ontario is losing between $750 million and $1.8 billion in annual tobacco tax revenue due to the illegal contraband market.
What might be surprising to readers is that RBH is committed to a smoke-free future and Lexi Ensor, who appeared before us at committee, began her presentation with: If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you smoke, quit. If you don’t quit, change. One of my colleagues on committee was confused by a tobacco company committing to a smoke-free Ontario. The short answer is that a smoke-free Ontario does not mean a nicotine-free Ontario but rather reducing the most harmful form of consumption by eliminating combustibles. For those who know the industry, this is comparable to the conversion to indirect-fired tobacco kilns around 2001.
As part of this commitment, RBH is asking the Ontario Government to step up and strengthen the province’s efforts to fight contraband tobacco, citing that law enforcement needs the right tools, paired with bold action and support from government, to meaningfully combat this serious issue.
Industry leaders like RBH have had my support in calling on the Ontario government to adopt Quebec’s model, which empowers law enforcement through specific legislation, ultimately increased the powers of local police to combat contraband. ACCES Tabac is composed of about 60 full-time officers with the Quebec government investing about $15 million in their efforts. Ontario, by comparison, supports about eight full-time officers with less than $4 million.
Contraband incidence rates in Quebec have been lowered to about 12 per cent, while in Ontario that number is above 50 per cent.
Sources have indicated to me that Quebec’s model was set to be written into the provincial budget in 2019 but was pulled as the document was about to go to print. Kicking the can down the road on illegal tobacco activity has only bolstered criminals who have seen how easy it is to create financial force multipliers. Now, like tobacco, illicit vaping and nicotine pouches are going down the same crooked road.
Credit where it’s due, in the 2025 Budget, the Ontario government called on the feds to act against the growing issue of contraband tobacco, sold through online platforms. This must become a priority as kids are now accessing far more than tobacco online and it can be brought to the door by carrier platforms or by Canada Post allegedly.
As we look toward the spring budget, contraband tobacco must be addressed, not through symbolism but through evidence-based policy. It’s time we confront the realities of this illegal industry, which undermines public health, fuels organized crime and deprives the province of revenues that could be utilized in critical sectors like healthcare and education.
Bobbi Ann Brady is the MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk