Summary

The Response to Illicit Drugs Act creates two new legal mechanisms: a direct government lawsuit to recover healthcare and other costs linked to illicit drugs trafficked in violation of federal law, and a new tort allowing individuals to sue those who commit drug trafficking offences under the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The Act also allows the government to void appointments, grants, and contracts with anyone convicted of a Schedule I drug trafficking offence within the past three years.

This Act gives the Saskatchewan government new tools to sue people or organizations convicted of trafficking Schedule I drugs under federal law. The government can claim the cost of healthcare, coroner services, residential services, and other expenses it says result from illicit drug use, either for specific patients or as an aggregate total for a population. Private individuals who suffer harm from using an illicit drug can also sue the person convicted of the trafficking offence. The Act creates legal shortcuts for these cases, including rebuttable presumptions that users would not have used the drug without the trafficking offence, and provisions allowing the government to rely on population-level statistical evidence rather than proving causation in individual cases. Separately, the Act allows the government to cancel jobs, grants, or contracts held by anyone convicted of a Schedule I trafficking offence in the past three years or at any point during the appointment or contract. The government and its employees are granted immunity from being sued for actions taken under this Act.