Ian Mulgrew: Court dawdles in face of overcrowding, opioid crises

  • Post author:
  • Post category:News

In the midst of a spring break, B.C. Supreme Court Justice John Steeves says it will be autumn before we hear the government’s defence of medical waiting lists.

Roughly a decade after the constitutional challenge to prohibitions on private and insured access to needed core medical services was launched, the marathon litigation lurches from adjournment to adjournment.

While patients stack up like cordwood on gurneys in hospital corridors, opioid prescriptions skyrocket for people waiting in pain, the great democratic brake on unconstitutional government policy, the legal system, appears feckless.

This case is a prime example of why we need sweeping law reform.

At a recent “management” conference, Steeves announced the battle over the B.C. Protection of Medicare Act will not meet a second completion date of mid-May.

….