Canada's top court has ruled that British Columbia can bring forward a class-action lawsuit against pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and retailers for harms caused by opioids on behalf of other provinces,

Section 11 of B.C.’s Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act allows the province to bring an action against opioid manufacturers and distributors on behalf of multiple governments, but also allows a government to opt out of the proceeding. Several companies argued Section 11 violates the Constitution by overstepping provincial authority.