Statement by NDP Leader Gary Burrill on the OxyContin settlement

Money will not come close to covering costs of opiate addiction

HALIFAX- NDP Leader Gary Burrill made the following statement regarding the OxyContin settlement:

“I am very disappointed to see that Stephen McNeil and the Liberals accepted the settlement offer from the manufacturer of OxyContin.

Thousands of people across Canada became addicted to a painkiller that they were told was non-addictive. The money from this settlement will not come even remotely close to covering the ongoing financial and human costs of opiates addiction in Nova Scotia.

The makers and marketers of OxyContin have not accepted responsibility for the damage their actions have caused and the public now has to pay for the consequences.

For the Government of Nova Scotia to agree to this settlement is totally unacceptable.”

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Facts about the settlement and addictions treatment in Nova Scotia:

• The manufacturer of OxyContin made over $30 billion in profits off the drug. The settlement offers just $18 million for individuals and families impacted by OxyContin addiction, and $2 million to public health systems across the country.
• The Globe and Mail has called the settlement a “betrayal of Canadians”.
• Nova Scotia’s share of the $2 million settlement, if calculated on a pro-rated basis, will be just $72,000.
• OxyContin and opiate addictions have impacted thousands of families across the province. Over 700 people were in a methadone program last year, and there are at least 300 more on the waitlist.