The B.C. government’s proposed class-action lawsuit against the makers and distributors of opioids has taken its next step, with a certification hearing taking place in Vancouver on Monday.
The unprecedented lawsuit aims to hold more than 40 multinational pharmaceutical companies accountable for allegedly using “deceptive marketing tactics to increase sales, which led to an increased rate of addictions and overdose,” according to Attorney General Niki Sharma.
“While no amount of money will ever bring back the people who have lost their lives due to toxic, unregulated drugs, our battle against the wrongful conduct of businesses and their marketing consultants is another meaningful step to address the toxic drug crisis,” Sharma said outside the Vancouver courthouse.
“We look forward to the continued collaboration among governments across jurisdictions, continu(ing) the work together to address the crisis and recover(ing) some of the extraordinary costs incurred by governments.”
The toxic drug crisis has claimed more than 13,000 lives in B.C. since it was first declared a public health emergency in 2016. The province launched its legal battle a little over two years later.
The class action period begins in 1996, when Purdue Pharma first introduced OxyContin to the Canadian market. The lawsuit claims pharmacy owners should have known the quantities of opioids they were distributing exceeded any legitimate market, and that makers and distributors downplayed the harmful effects of the painkillers, as well as misrepresented the risk of addiction and failed to mention side effects and withdrawal symptoms.
Purdue has already settled with B.C. for $150 million in the “largest-ever government health settlement in Canadian history,” according to the province. Sharma said she couldn’t estimate how much B.C. aims to recover from other defendants, but suggested the sum would be “substantial.”
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside was unable to attend the Monday press conference.
As of mid-October, Quebec is the only province that has not yet adopted a law allowing it to join the lawsuit. It tabled similar legislation to that of other provinces last month, however, with the head of litigation at its attorney general’s office stating that during the Purdue settlement process, Canada-wide damages from opioids were an estimated $85 billion.
The certification hearing in B.C. comes just after the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear a constitutional challenge by four of the companies, which say a law allowing B.C. to recover costs on behalf of other governments is an overreach.
Sharma said the province has been “largely successful” in overcoming challenges from various defendants, which have sought to delay the certification hearing as matters remain unsolved in that top court. She declined, however, to identify any particularly resistant pharmaceutical company.
The certification hearing is expected to last about four weeks and a civil trial would then have to be held to determine if the companies are liable for damages.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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