Class-action lawsuit targeting opioid manufacturers certified by B.C. Supreme Court [Video]

B.C.’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 says 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.

Last November, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the constitutionality of a law allowing B.C. to pursue a class-action lawsuit on behalf of other Canadian governments.

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 …