[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Canada [official website] ruled [judgment] unanimously Thursday that provincial governments can pass laws to recover health care costs incurred in taking care of people sickened by smoking. Canadian tobacco companies had challenged the constitutionality of the 1998 Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act [text] which authorized British Columbia to seek damages against the companies for both past harm and future health complications. Canadian anti-tobacco activists hope that other provinces use the BC legislation as a model for future recovery actions against the tobacco industry. The Toronto Globe and Mail has more.