He did not respond as hoped. Quite the opposite. Rather than forcing the companies to choose between appealing the ruling of the Quebec Court of Appeal and using creditor protection, he said they could do both. He expanded the stay to stop the clock on the Supreme Court time limits.
His short ruling, penned on the back of the request made to him by the Quebec lawyers, did not give reasons. These he said (transcript below) will "soon follow".
April 17, 2019
For ease of reference I am providing this endorsement by way of the QCAP Factum which references all three Applications.
For reasons to soon follow an order shall go [out] staying any and all current proceedings against the Applicants and related entities as set out in the Initial Orders, and prohibiting the commencement of any further proceedings by or against them except with leave of this Court.
This includes any applications for leave to the Supreme Court of Canada. It is further ordered that, to the extent of any prescription, time or limitation period relating to any proceeding by or against the Applicants that is stayed pursuant to this order may expire, the term of such prescription, time or limitation period shall be deemed to be extended by a period equal to the Stay Period.
This endorsement is being provided to all counsel who attended at the motion.
McEwen J.
This is the "Sword of Damocles" scenario portrayed by two sets of lawyers - those representing Quebec smokers and the Ontario government. Earlier this month, they cautioned Justice McEwen that as long as the Appeal Court ruling was not final or the path forward resolved, the companies would have an imbalance of power in any negotiations.
Next Friday, the Ontario government was expected to offer reasons to Justice McEwen as to why preliminary motions in their lawsuits should proceed in June this year, as currently scheduled. Yesterday's ruling suggests that will be a tough case to make.
