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TORONTO – The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) is appearing in court today, July 18, fighting the British Columbia government over our public interest litigation for patient medical choice. For years, the CCF has supported Dr. Brian Day and the Cambie Surgery Centre in their court battle for patients in B.C. This case challenged restrictions in B.C.’s Medicare Protection Act that prevent Canadians from getting better access to care. In B.C., as in most of Canada, access to medical treatment is rationed by the government using wait lists to limit the overall cost of healthcare spending. At the same time, the province imposes restrictions on access to healthcare for patients who need to go outside the failing government monopoly system.

If the Cambie case had been successful, it could have finally kickstarted a process of rethinking and rebuilding healthcare in Canada. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the case without giving reasons why and left important legal questions about Canadian rights unanswered.

Now the B.C. government is demanding that the CCF and its partners pay $1.7 million dollars to cover some of the legal bills they racked up fighting against Canadians’ rights. To put that amount into perspective, the CCF spent less than $2.1 million on all our work (including all of our cases, special projects and events) in the last fiscal year.

“The B.C. government’s mismanagement of their legal costs, and their desire to fight public interest litigation that would help B.C. patients should never result in a punishment of those seeking to improve the system,” said CCF Executive Director Joanna Baron. “Canadians have been promised universal access to care, but patients can see for themselves through interactions with the healthcare system how broken that system is. Provincial laws that violate Canadians’ constitutionally protected rights to life and security of the person need to be struck down, and that’s why we supported this litigation. It is unjust and inhumane to deny Canadians their basic rights, to require patients to suffer on wait lists, and then to impose huge costs on anyone who challenges this broken system.”

In the 2005 Supreme Court case Chaoulli v. Quebec, the Court found that the Quebec government could not block patients in the province from obtaining treatment at non-government clinics for surgeries when suffering on excessively long waiting lists. To do so, according to the court, would violate their rights. The decision in the Cambie case at the B.C. Court of Appeal flies in the face of the Chaoulli case. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court of Canada refused leave in Cambie and as a result patients in Quebec are left with more rights than patients in the rest of Canada.

Members of the public interested in supporting the CCF’s fight for patient choice and our fight against the B.C. government’s attempt to stop public interest litigation can may a tax deductible charitable donation at theccf.ca/yourhealthcantwait/donate/