The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that British Columbia can join other provinces, territories and the federal government in bringing class-action lawsuits against drug providers for harm caused by opioids.
The decision ends a years-long battle with Shoppers Drug Mart and other manufacturers, distributors and retailers that make or handle opioid drugs and paves the way for possible nationwide action by the government. It opens.
The companies asked the Supreme Court of Canada to consider two lower court decisions that affirmed B.C.’s right to take legal action under the province’s Opioid Damages and Medical Expenses Recovery Act (ORA).
Section 11 of the Act allows British Columbia to bring class-action lawsuits against opioid providers on behalf of the federal government or provinces or territories that paid for the treatment of patients who took opioids.
The companies argued that the clause was unconstitutional and did not respect territorial limits. The BC Supreme Court and the BC Court of Appeal both sided with the province and ruled that this section was purely a procedural mechanism.
The Supreme Court of Canada rejected both companies’ appeals in a 6-1 decision.
Crisis that crosses borders
A majority of the justices held that Article 11 is constitutional and deals with procedural rights that are within the states’ authority over the administration of justice.
“When products, people, and issues cross jurisdictions, cooperation and compassion are essential to ensure that justice is not impeded by state borders,” Judge Andromache Karakatsanis wrote in a judgment released Friday morning. Yes,” he said.
“The opioid epidemic gripping our nation is a clear example of a crisis that attracts such cooperation and compassion.
“It is national in scope and highlights the role that national class actions can play in achieving efficiency, consistency, and access to justice for all who have experienced harm, regardless of geographic boundaries. ”
Allegation
The opioid bill is modeled on a similar British Columbia law that forced tobacco companies to pay a portion of tobacco-related medical costs. In 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the law was constitutionally valid.
British Columbia filed suit in 2018 against 49 pharmaceutical companies, including Loblaw companies Sannis Health and Shoppers Drug Mart, as well as Sandoz Canada and McKesson Canada.
B.C. states that every province and territory in Canada experiences high rates of addiction, morbidity and mortality due to the opioid epidemic, and that the defendants made their products less addictive and abused than other painkillers. They falsely advertised that the virus was difficult to use and claimed to have contributed to its spread. .
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Sanis Health, Shoppers, Sandoz Canada and McKesson Canada filed constitutional challenges. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBC News.
B.C.’s Ministry of Justice said Thursday that provincial law allows provinces and territories to opt out of B.C.’s class action lawsuit if they wish, but no one has so far opted out. Announced.
Justice Suzanne Côté dissented from the case, which raised concerns about other states’ legislative sovereignty.
He said that while cooperation between state and federal governments is “a laudable goal,” the methods “no matter how advantageous it may be to infringe on the jurisdiction of another government in any case.” “It has to be consistent with the structure of Canadian federalism.” . ”
CBC News has reached out to B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma and federal Health Minister Mark Holland for comment.
