B.C. Supreme Court certifies Canada-wide class-action lawsuit against opioid makers

British Columbia's attorney general says the B.C. Supreme Court has certified the province's class-action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

Niki Sharma says B.C. can now proceed as a representative plaintiff on behalf of other Canadian governments with the litigation aimed at recovering the costs of treating opioid-related diseases allegedly caused by the industry's conduct.

She said in a statement the top court decision reaffirms B.C.'s commitment to holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in the opioid crisis, which was declared a public health emergency in the province in April 2016.

The court had already affirmed the constitutionality of a law allowing B.C. to pursue a class-action lawsuit on behalf of other Canadian governments last November.

That's after several opioid companies argued in B.C. Supreme Court that the province was overstepping its authority under the constitution.

But a majority of the top court found that B.C.'s law respects the legislative authority of other Canadian governments, which can choose to opt out of the proceeding, and the decision noted that nearly every province and territory as well as the federal government intended to take part in the class-action.

Sharma says the class-action's certification marks a "significant milestone" in the proceedings that date back to 2018 when the province first launched the lawsuit.

"Our goal was clear: to recover the health-care costs of treating opioid-related harms and to hold manufacturers and distributors accountable for their role in allegedly using deceptive marketing practices to drive sales, contributing to addiction and overdose rates in the country," she said.

In an interview with CBC News, Sharma said the pharmaceutical companies being sued were trying "every possible avenue" to impede the lawsuit, and Wednesday's court decision shows they were not working.

"I think my role as attorney general is to represent the public and to go after companies that are doing harm to our citizens and meet them in court," she said.

The most recent data from the B.C. Coroners Service released in December says in the first 10 months of last year, there were 1,925 overdose deaths, marking a nine per cent decrease from the same time period in 2023.

Canadian government statistics say there were more than 49,000 opioid toxicity deaths reported between January 2016 and June 2024 across the country. 

Federal Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya'ara Saks expressed support for the lawsuit in a social media post on Wednesday.

"Canada remains intent on becoming a class member in this suit," she said. "Our work to end the predatory practices of the pharmaceutical industry continues."

CBC News has reached out to the defendants in the lawsuit for this story.