Quebec is set to introduce legislation that would enable it to join a putative class-action lawsuit against dozens of players in the pharmaceutical industry over opioid-related harms.
The province is expected to make the move amid the attempt by two Quebec companies, named as defendants in the British Columbia-led national effort, to have proceedings against them dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.
A source with knowledge on the file confirmed to The Globe and Mail the Quebec government’s intentions. The Globe is not naming the source because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the legislation, which is expected in coming days.
B.C. initiated the lawsuit in 2018, seeking to recover health care costs from what it alleged was 20 years of misinformation and deception by pharmaceutical firms and distributors that knew or should have known the drugs were addictive and seeping into the illicit market.
The more than 40 defendants include manufacturers such as Purdue Pharma, whose OxyContin pain pill has been implicated in Canada’s overdose epidemic; retailers such as Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. and the Jean Coutu Group Inc.; and distributors and wholesalers.
Jean Coutu is a franchisor operating a network of about 420 independently owned stores and pharmacies, mainly in Quebec, while distributor Pro Doc Limitée is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jean Coutu, according to court documents.
The two Quebec companies have argued that they should not be included in the putative class proceeding as they keep no business records in B.C. and don’t market their products in the province, and because the B.C. Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction over them.
That matter was heard in September, 2022. The following April, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Brundrett dismissed the application, finding that the court does have territorial competence to determine the claims against them. The companies, now appealing that decision, sought a stay of the certification hearing pending the outcome; that was dismissed in August.
B.C. introduced the Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act in 2018, empowering it to pursue class actions on behalf of the federal government and other provincial governments.
Quebec, Yukon and Nunavut are the only province and territories without similar legislation, which would also make it possible for their governments to join class-action lawsuits initiated in other Canadian jurisdictions.
“Although the class action was initiated by British Columbia on behalf of the federal government and the provincial and territorial governments, the adoption of legislation similar to that taken by British Columbia makes it possible, among other things, to promote the application … of legal regimes that are adapted to the situation and similar for all,” Marie-Claude Lacasse, spokesperson for the Quebec Department of Health, said in an e-mail.
Suzanne Chiodo, an associate professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School and an expert in class actions, said that if Quebec joins the lawsuit, Jean Coutu and Pro Doc’s claim that the B.C. courts cannot take jurisdiction over them would likely fail, as has already happened in B.C. Supreme Court.
“There will be a real and substantial connection between the defendants and B.C., because the class members on whose behalf B.C. is suing will include Quebec” and the provinces will be found to “have issues in common,” Dr. Chiodo said, referring to the applicable legal test.
Quebec’s indication it will join the lawsuit is “excellent news,” the expert wrote in an e-mail to The Globe, as it will bring “more uniformity” in accountability and damages to be recovered.
Jean Coutu spokesperson Catherine Latendresse declined to comment.
In June, 2022, the federal, provincial and territorial governments reached a settlement with one of the defendants in the class action, Purdue Pharma Canada, which agreed to pay $150-million. The allegations against the pharmaceutical giant have not been proven in court.
David Klein, a Vancouver-based class-action lawyer, said while the settlement amount relative to Purdue’s alleged role in driving the opioid crisis is small, it must be viewed in the context of the company’s bankruptcy filing in the U.S.
“The settlement was a good break for them in the sense that they were able to get some traction early on, with some recovery,” he said. “It’s a relatively small amount, but you take what you can get when a company is in solvency proceedings.”
Dr. Chiodo said that, because of a previous settlement on this issue with Purdue Pharma, as well as the strong chances of certification in B.C.’s “plaintiff-friendly class actions regime” and the costs associated with a trial, there is a significant likelihood that the nationwide effort that Quebec is set to join will also be settled.
With a report from The Canadian Press
Andrea Woo