The mounting death toll from the opioid crisis has some looking for villains. While we must try to understand what caused the devastation, it would be simplistic to blame it on one person or group.
New Democrat MP Don Davies (91原创 Kingsway) wants the federal government to launch a criminal investigation of opioid manufacturers and go after the companies for significant compensation.
鈥淐anada鈥檚 federal government has neither launched a criminal investigation nor sought meaningful compensation for the public costs of this crisis,鈥� he said Thursday.
That鈥檚 a striking difference to the U.S., where Purdue Pharma has paid $634 million in fines. A federal court ruled it had an aggressive and misleading marketing campaign related to OxyContin. Purdue had said the painkiller was less likely to cause abuse and addiction than other drugs such as Percocet.
The company also faces about 100 lawsuits from governments at all levels in the U.S. In Canada, a judge ruled that a $20-million settlement for 2,000 people in a class-action suit was inadequate.
So far, Health Canada has said it鈥檚 watching events south of the border, but doesn鈥檛 plan to investigate Purdue鈥檚 marketing practices. Why not? In B.C., where the tsunami of opioid overdoses first touched shore, more than 1,400 people died last year.
Understanding the pharmaceutical company鈥檚 role in the disaster has to be part of our response.
The largest part, of course, is to get the epidemic under control and then learn how to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
