VICTORIA, B.C.: As the BC government touts a certified class-action lawsuit against consulting giant McKinsey for its alleged role in fuelling Canada’s opioid crisis, Conservative MLAs Elenore Sturko and Claire Rattée are calling out the NDP for what they describe as shameless hypocrisy and deflection.
Attorney General Niki Sharma said the lawsuit is about accountability. But BC Conservative MLAs say the NDP needs to take a hard look in the mirror.
“Accountability? When will the NDP show some accountability and come clean about their safe supply diversion and how they negligently misrepresented these opioids as safe?” said Elenore Sturko, Official Opposition Critic for Solicitor General and Public Safety. “They lied about diversion, they fuelled addiction and the fentanyl trade, and they let criminal organizations get rich while people died. Now they want to portray themselves on the side of angels through a lawsuit, when their own failed policies pushed opioid use?”
“The NDP’s lawsuit accuses McKinsey of misleading prescribers and the public about the dangers of opioids, yet the NDP branded pharmaceutical-grade opioids as ‘safe,’ using similar tactics,” says Claire Rattée, Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions.
“They told the public these drugs were safe,” said Rattée. “They denied the risk of diversion even when frontline workers, law enforcement, and the media were raising the alarm. And they accused critics of spreading misinformation.”
“You don’t get to sue others for opioid harm while ignoring your own role in enabling it,” said Rattée. “McKinsey should be held accountable, but so should the NDP. What we need is a government willing to take responsibility for its own failures before pointing fingers at others.”
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Media Contact:
Francesca Guetchev
Conservative Caucus Communications Team
Francesca.Guetchev@leg.bc.ca
+1 (672) 922-0948
