$150M is not enough: Canada’s proposed Purdue Pharma settlement for opioid damages is paltry and won’t prevent future crises

OxyContin, an opioid drug heavily marketed by Purdue Pharma, is associated with billions of dollars of health-care costs in Canada related to the opioid crisis. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

On June 29, Canadian federal and provincial governments reached a proposed $150-million settlement with Purdue Pharma Canada, makers of OxyContin, an opioid-based pain medication. The settlement is intended to recover the health-care costs related to the damaging effects from the sale and marketing of OxyContin.