Ontario is looking to join British Columbia's fight against opioid manufacturers.
The provincial government announced on Monday that it is looking to establish an agency to oversee mental health and addictions care across the province that would be responsible for developing and standardizing care across the province.
If legislation is passed, it also includes a plan to join B.C.'s proposed class action law suit against dozens of pharmaceutical companies in a bid to recoup the health-care costs associated with opioid addiction.
Ontario's Attorney General Caroline Mulroney made the announcement at the 7th Annual Mental Health and Addictions Conference in Toronto, and says it would allow Ontario to participate in the suit that was launched in 2018.
Mulroney goes on to say that Ontario would invest any potential awards won from the litigation into frontline mental health and addiction services.
British Columbia filed the proposed class action against dozens of pharmaceutical companies in a bid to recoup the health-care costs associated with opioid addiction.
The untested suit alleges the companies falsely marketed opioids as less addictive than other pain drugs and helped trigger an overdose crisis that has killed thousands since OxyContin was introduced to the Canadian market in 1996.
It names Purdue Pharma Inc. — the maker of OxyContin — as well as other major drug manufacturers, and also targets pharmacies, including Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. and its owner Loblaw Companies Ltd., claiming they should have known the quantities of opioids they were distributing exceeded any legitimate market.
As part of Monday's announcement, it was also released that Ontario will establish an agency to oversee mental health and addictions care across the province.
Mulroney says the current system is fragmented and confusing for patients and their families.
The agency will be responsible for developing and standardizing care across the province.
— With files from The Canadian Pres