Nova Scotia's health minister said that a provincial ban on menthol cigarettes will go forward this weekend despite a lawsuit from Imperial Tobacco.

A statement of claim obtained by Global News finds that the plaintiffs, Imperial Tobacco and Mary Wadden, the owner of a tobacco specialty store in Stellarton, believe the bill is, "inoperative under the constitutional doctrine of federal paramountcy to the extent it prohibits the sale of menthol tobacco products."

Collective agreements for over half a million public-sector workers are set to expire in March, and Quebec's nurses are ready to fight the government's austerity plan.