Lethbridge City Hall (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Opioid Class Action Suit

Lethbridge exploring greater involvement in class action opioid lawsuit with Grande Prairie

Jun 16, 2020 | 11:26 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – “I don’t believe there’s a city in Alberta that’s been more significantly impacted than Lethbridge.”

Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman introduced a motion Monday to formally give support to the City of Grande Prairie’s $10-billion class action lawsuit against more than 40 pharmaceutical companies for their alleged role in the opioid crisis.

“These opioids were manufactured. Manufacturers encouraged doctors to prescribe them, and then what happened was, as people could no longer renew their prescriptions, they looked for illicit sources,” explained Spearman. “The drug problem we have today basically originated in over-prescription and encouragement of the use of opioids, which are highly addictive.”

The lawsuit claims that these companies falsely and fraudulently marketed opioids as safe and non-addictive, failed to properly perform long-term studies on the effects of the drugs, and created a false perception of safety and value of opioids in the medical community.

It is also alleged that distributors of the opioids failed to report suspicious orders, which are required by law, and that they dispensed, supplied, and sold prescription opioids without proper safeguards in place.

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As it stands, every municipality in Canada is a member of the lawsuit unless they opt-out.

Council agreed to participate in the lawsuit on a contingency-fee basis, “which means that our costs would be paid out of any subsequent award.”

According to Spearman, there would be no cost to the taxpayers of Lethbridge for being a member.

The mayor, however, suggested taking the city’s involvement one step further.

Like Grande Prairie, he proposed becoming a representative plaintiff in the case. A motion to explore the ramifications of doing so was approved 8-1 with only Councillor Joe Mauro voting in opposition.

Representative plaintiffs would have the ability to share their experiences in court as a means of showing the impacts that the opioid crisis has had locally.

The analogy used in council was whether we want to ride the bus or drive it.

“The City of Lethbridge has an experience to offer which is unique – here’s what happens on a smaller-sized city. We’re a city of 100,000 people and this is probably the most significant health crisis that we have faced in more than 100 years. The impact on the city, the cost to the residents, the cost to taxpayers, the cost to businesses has been significant.”

According to the latest Alberta Opioid Response Surveillance Report, 16 people in Lethbridge died as a result of accidental deaths related to fentanyl in 2019, while another four succumbed to opioids other than fentanyl.

Between January 2016 and the end of 2019, there was 1,629 times where people sought emergency care at Chinook Regional Hospital due to opioid and other drug use.

Spearman says he has spoken to the mayors of Grande Prairie, Edmonton, Red Deer, and Calgary about the lawsuit and hopes to continue to do so in the near future.

City Solicitor Brian Loewen has been tasked with looking further into what becoming a representative plaintiff would entail, including responsibilities, liabilities, and any potential cost implications.

A recommendation to council will be made in the near future.