The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has endorsed the constitutionality of British Columbia (BC) legislation empowering the province to seek recovery of opioid epidemic healthcare costs in a proposed class action brought on behalf of multiple Canadian governments.
In Sanis Health Inc v British Columbia, 2024 SCC 40, a majority of the SCC held that constitutional territorial limits on provincial legislative competence did not prevent BC from creating a direct statutory cause of action that it can pursue in a proposed class action on behalf of the federal and other provincial governments, subject to the right to opt out of the proceeding.
In reaching that conclusion, the majority reflected on the benefits of national class actions in Canada'where no national procedural mechanism comparable to the multi-district litigation process in the United States exists'to simplify the aggregation, prosecution, and determination of claims spanning geographic boundaries. It is the SCC's strongest endorsement of the constitutionality of a national opt-out class action administered out of a single province.
While its effect on legislative agendas and healthcare-cost recovery litigation remains to be seen, Sanis may offer "proof of concept" for national multi-Crown class actions and encourage more ambitious legislative action going forward.
Background
In Sanis, BC commenced a proposed class action against 49 manufacturers, marketers and distributors of opioid products. It alleged that the defendants had falsely marketed their products as less addictive and less prone to abuse, tolerance and withdrawal than other pain medications.
Soon after, BC passed the Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, SBC 2018, c 34 (ORA). The ORA creates a direct statutory cause of action...
