British Columbia’s Supreme Court Approves Class-Action Lawsuit Against Opioid Providers

British Columbia’s attorney general announced that the province’s Supreme Court has approved the government’s class-action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors. This means that B.C. can now move forward as a representative plaintiff on behalf of other Canadian governments in the legal action aimed at recovering the expenses related to treating opioid-related illnesses attributed to the conduct of the industry.

The certification of the class-action lawsuit reaffirms British Columbia’s dedication to holding pharmaceutical companies responsible for their alleged role in the opioid crisis, which has been deemed a public health emergency in the province since April 2016. Last November, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the constitutionality of a law that enables B.C. to pursue a class-action lawsuit on behalf of federal, provincial, and territorial governments, following arguments from several opioid companies in B.C. Supreme Court that the province was exceeding its authority under the constitution.

However, a majority ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada determined that B.C.’s law respects the legislative authority of other Canadian governments, allowing them to opt out of the legal proceedings. The decision also noted that nearly all provinces and territories, as well as the federal government, intended to participate in the class-action lawsuit. The certification of the class-action lawsuit represents a significant milestone in a legal process that began back in 2018 when British Columbia initially initiated the lawsuit.

Attorney General Niki Sharma emphasized the objective of the lawsuit, which aims to recover healthcare expenses related to opioid-related harms and hold manufacturers and distributors accountable for their alleged use of deceptive marketing tactics to boost sales, thus contributing to addiction and overdose rates in the country. Recent data from the B.C. Coroners Service, released in December, indicated that there were 1,925 overdose deaths in the first 10 months of the previous year, marking a nine percent decrease from the same period in 2023.

According to government statistics, over 49,000 opioid toxicity deaths were reported across Canada between January 2016 and June 2024. It is worth noting that this is a corrected version of the story, as the initial version incorrectly attributed the certification of the lawsuit to the Supreme Court of Canada, when in fact, it came from the B.C. Supreme Court. Attorney General Niki Sharma expressed her commitment to pursuing justice and accountability in light of the devastating impacts of the opioid crisis.