Supreme Court approves B.C. class-action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers

British Columbia’s attorney general, Niki Sharma, has recently announced that the Supreme Court of Canada has officially certified the province’s class-action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors. This certification allows British Columbia to move forward as a representative plaintiff on behalf of other Canadian governments in their pursuit of recovering costs related to treating opioid-related diseases allegedly caused by industry conduct.

Sharma expressed that the decision by the top court reaffirms British Columbia’s dedication to holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for their involvement in the opioid crisis. The opioid crisis was declared a public health emergency in the province back in April 2016, highlighting the severity of the situation.

This certification came after a legal battle where several opioid companies argued in the B.C. Supreme Court that the province was overstepping its authority under the constitution. However, the Supreme Court ruling upheld the constitutionality of British Columbia’s law allowing it to pursue the class-action lawsuit on behalf of other Canadian governments.

The court decision emphasized that nearly every province and territory, as well as the federal government, intended to participate in the class-action lawsuit. Sharma views the certification of the class-action as a significant milestone in the legal proceedings, which began in 2018 when the province first initiated the lawsuit.

The core objective of the lawsuit is to recover healthcare costs associated with treating opioid-related harms and to hold manufacturers and distributors accountable for their alleged role in utilizing deceptive marketing practices that fueled addiction and overdose rates across the country.

According to data from the B.C. Coroners Service, there was a nine percent decrease in overdose deaths in the first ten months of the previous year compared to the same period in 2023. However, Canadian government statistics report more than 49,000 opioid toxicity deaths between January 2016 and June 2024, underscoring the widespread impact of the crisis.

The completion of this crucial legal certification process marks a meaningful step forward in the ongoing battle to address the ramifications of the opioid crisis in Canada. It signifies the commitment of British Columbia and other Canadian governments to pursue justice and accountability for the devastating consequences of opioid-related diseases caused by the conduct of pharmaceutical companies.