B.C. court certifies Canada-wide class-action suit against McKinsey for alleged opioid promotion

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 17, 2025 10:12 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

The B.C. Supreme Court has certified a Canada-wide class-action suit against consultancy steadfast McKinsey & Company arsenic portion of ongoing ineligible efforts by the state to retrieve health-care costs relating to the toxic cause crisis.

In a judgement posted Friday, the state alleges the institution advised opioid manufacturers and helped plan advertizing campaigns that led to the over-prescription of opioids.

The class-action suit sought by the provincial authorities — successful which it would enactment arsenic a pb plaintiff, connected behalf of different provinces and the national authorities — is intimately related to different akin lawsuit that the state is pursuing against pharmaceutical companies for their alleged relation successful the illicit cause crisis.

The poisoned cause epidemic was declared a nationalist wellness exigency successful the state successful April 2016, and much than 16,000 radical person died successful B.C. since then.

According to the province, McKinsey helped plan campaigns for Canadian pharmaceutical companies that made mendacious claims astir opioids to prescribers and the nationalist — yet causing an over-prescription of addictive drugs and harming those who utilized them.

While Justice Michael Brundrett didn't hold with each of the province's arguments, helium recovered determination was capable successful its lawsuit for it to proceed to a afloat class-action hearing.

"While I admit the value of idiosyncratic issues, I nevertheless measure that the associated litigation of the projected communal issues volition importantly beforehand judicial economy," helium wrote successful his judgment.

The province, connected behalf of different jurisdictions, and McKinsey volition present proceed to a proceedings wherever the state seeks to retrieve health-care, pharmaceutical and attraction costs.

For its part, McKinsey said the ailment was without merit and it would support itself successful court.

"McKinsey & Company did not undertake immoderate enactment successful Canada related to the merchantability oregon selling of opioids," a spokesperson said successful an email.

Province alleges conspiracy

In seeking to certify a class-action lawsuit, a plaintiff indispensable beryllium that the alleged damages done to them are shared by a radical of others, and that the group's communal issues indispensable beryllium heard successful 1 sitting.

The provincial authorities asserted to the tribunal that McKinsey's actions and proposal were accordant crossed the U.S. and Canada.

McKinsey has already admitted to being progressive successful a U.S. lawsuit regarding promoting opioids successful that country, successful which it agreed to wage $600 cardinal US implicit claims it aided Purdue Pharma successful encouraging opioid over-prescription.

In summation to linking McKinsey's actions to Purdue Canada, the state further alleged that McKinsey's consultancy northbound of the borderline included doing enactment for different opioid distributors Janssen, Endo, and McKesson.

Justice Brundrett wrote that the province's mentation was that McKinsey was "the effectual 'hand successful the glove' for the improper promotion of opioid manufacturing."

The justice noted that the consultancy steadfast had raised superior issues arsenic to whether its actions had promoted medicine usage successful Canada oregon not.

"Certification does not impact an appraisal of the merits and is not a pronouncement connected the viability oregon spot of the action," the justice wrote.

"The result of certification is not predictive of the result of the communal issues astatine trial."

AG says suit astir accountability

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma said the action, connected behalf of different jurisdictions, was portion of her occupation to clasp companies accountable and retrieve damages connected behalf of taxpayers.

"This is portion of a ample suit truthful we tin retrieve what taxpayers had to wage since 1996, due to the fact that of the wellness impacts connected truthful galore radical and the tragic losses that we've suffered successful this province," she told CBC News.

Leslie McBain, who mislaid her son Jordan to an oxycodone overdose successful 2014, said companies that were selling opioids successful an irresponsible mode should beryllium held accountable.

However, the advocator and laminitis of Moms Stop The Harm said governments should give their attraction to tackling the ongoing toxic cause situation instead.

"On the 1 hand. I'm gladsome to perceive this news," she said of the lawsuit. "But connected the different hand, it doesn't lick thing close now."