A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for their contribution to the opioid epidemic by suing them

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has announced that if elected, his government would pursue $44 billion in lawsuits against large pharmaceutical multinationals for their role in Canada’s opioid and addiction crisis. The plan aims to hold those who profited from the crisis accountable and provide hope for those affected. Recent data showed over 32,000 opioid-related deaths and 30,000 opioid-related hospitalizations between January 2016 and June 2022 in Canada. Poilievre accused drug companies like Purdue Pharma of lying to drug regulators about the addictive nature of opioids to market them as safe. He also criticized the Liberal government for not holding pharmaceutical companies accountable and cited McKinsey & Co’s example. Poilievre promised to launch a federal lawsuit against big pharma to recover the expenses incurred on border security, courts, the criminal justice system, indigenous programs, lost federal tax revenue, and “massively expanded” treatment programs. The lawsuits’ total amount claimed would be $44 billion, including the federal share of health-care costs, federal money spent on the opioid crisis, money spent on the federal criminal justice system, and lost tax revenue.