By Moira Wyton, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A British Columbia-led lawsuit against more than 40 pharmaceutical companies has resulted in a proposed $150-million settlement with Purdue  Pharma Canada for health-care costs related to the company’s marketing  of opioid pain medications.

But advocates say the  lawsuit is also an exercise in distracting the public from the  government’s failure to make changes — including introducing safe supply  — that would have saved thousands of lives lost to toxic drugs.