Cambie appeal roundup

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Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
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Paov --

Last week (June 14-18, 2021), we listened to the BC Court of Appeal’s hearing for the Cambie case. This case is far from over, however, and there’s still time for you to sign the pledge to show your support for public health care.

Here’s a brief overview of some of the arguments presented at last week’s hearing:

  • Counsel for the attorneys general of Canada (AG-C) and BC (AG-BC) both argued that equity is a key objective of both the Canada Health Act and the BC Medicare Protection Act (MPA). They also outlined why data on wait times cannot be viewed as black and white, that there are many factors that go into the length of a patient’s wait time (including decisions made by patients and their physicians), and that the appellants have failed to identify how the MPA actually causes those extended wait times.
  • Our counsel supported both the AG-C and AG-BC in... our submission that the objective of the legislation is to ensure equity in access for all patients, both inside and out of the publicly-funded system. We also argued that patients with complex cases depending on the public system would be more harmed by the impacts of the duplicative system than those seeking to pay for quicker access to elective care.
  • The appellants argued that this case isn’t about the wealthy having improved access to care. They say that the rise in crowd-funding and community support resources could help everyone pay for faster access to care. Who needs a public health care system when you can use Go-Fund-Me to pay for your surgery instead?!

We remain confident in the strength and breadth of the decision from the BC Supreme Court last September. This case, which involved nearly 200 days in court at the trial level and more than 880 pages in the decision, is one of the most significant in Canadian legal history. We know that the evidence is on our side.

So … what’s next? Unfortunately, again we have to wait. Our legal counsel anticipates that it will be at least 6 months before a verdict is reached in this appeal. Regardless of the outcome we will almost certainly be headed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

As part of the Coalition Intervenors we remain committed to pursuing the case and will keep you posted along the way.

Thanks and take good care,

BC Health Coalition

British Columbia Health Coalition · 3102 Main St, 302, Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories, BC V5T 3G7, Canada
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