The following are just a few of the facts to be laid before the BC Supreme Court:

• Of 196 countries in the World, Canada alone outlaws personal spending on necessary health care.
• In Canada, the lowest socioeconomic groups have the worst access and health outcomes – the opposite of the original goal of our system.
• "The evidence shows that delays in the public health care system are widespread and patients die as a result of waiting lists for public health care" Supreme Court of Canada, 2005.
• Our system is inefficient and expensive. We have 1 public health bureaucrat for every 1400 Canadians. (11 times the number in Germany, with a hybrid system, universal care, and no wait lists).
• A survey has shown that 26% of Canadian doctors have had a patient die on a wait list.
• In England in 2003, Prime Minister Tony Blair engaged the private sector to help eliminate wait lists. Long wait lists in England have been eliminated.
• The European Consumer Powerhouse rated Canada's health system 23 of 30 in quality, and last in value for money compared with 29 countries. Many including France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, and Switzerland, demonstrate superior care and access with hybrid public-private systems.
• 70% of Canadians have extended (private) insurance that covers services considered medically necessary in other countries and 76 % think they should be able to buy private insurance for treatments outside the public system: (Ipsos Reid Poll June 28 2012).

What is this about?

In the 2005 Chaoulli case, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the rights of Quebec residents were violated by laws that forced citizens to wait, while denying them the right to access care outside of the government system. Those laws were overturned. Our challenge is based on the argument that all Canadian residents suffering on wait lists should have the same protection under the constitution that the Supreme Court granted to Quebec citizens (under the Quebec Charter). Our case will be argued under the Canadian Charter and will have have application to all provinces. The defendants in our case are the BC Minister of Health, the BC Attorney General, and the BC Medical Services Commission. BC still has on its books a law, having been passed by the BC Legislature (and having received Royal assent), that is simply awaiting proclamation by Cabinet. If proclaimed, the result will be an initial fine of $10,000 ($20,000 for a repeat offence) for those who enable sick or injured patients to expedite their care. Other provinces have similar laws. The goal of this court action is to eliminate queues and make such laws irrelevant.

UPDATE:

Legal battle over access to private care moves to B.C.'s top court in September

April 3rd, 2014 - Vancouver Sun

By Pamela Fayerman. The original article can be found here.

The five-year-old case against the B.C. government over extrabilling and patient access to private surgery centres will finally be heard in B.C. Supreme Court during a two-month trial starting in September.

Dr. Brian Day, a Vancouver orthopedic surgeon and coowner of the Cambie Surgery Centre, first launched litigation back in January 2009. In 2012, six patients joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs, all of whom contended their health suffered while they endured long waits for care in the public health care system.

One plaintiff, Tifarah Hauff, died from a brain tumour while waiting for the trial. Another plaintiff, Kelowna teen Walid Khalfallah, joined the lawsuit after becoming a paraplegic after complications from a long-delayed, highly complex spinal operation. His mom, Debbie Waitkus, said he continues to battle serious health problems, often requiring hospitalization.

As with any big legal case, there have been twists and turns galore. Besides the death of Hauff, the law firm representing Day (Heenan Blaikie) recently broke up. But Day said his original lawyers are now in a firm called Gall, Legge, Grant & Munroe and remain on the case. As well, the judge who was originally assigned to the case - Justice Robert Bauman - was promoted last summer, from Chief Justice of the B.C. Supreme Court to Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal.

Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen now has charge of the file and is expected to preside over the 40-day trial. One of the legal experts advising Day's team is a retired Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) judge, Michel Bastarache. He was on the SCC when it heard the landmark Chaouilli case in 2005, in which a majority of the court ruled unconstitutional Quebec's ban on private insurance for hospital and physician services in the private sector. Day's side is relying on the Quebec case to bolster its chances of success. The B.C. government will argue the Quebec case is irrelevant to B.C. The defendants in the lawsuit are the Medical Services Commission, the minister of health and the attorney general.

The crux of the case is whether patients should be able to pay - with cash or through private insurance - for care in private clinics if they can't get timely care in the public system.

Day said that if the case reaches the Supreme Court of Canada, legal fees for his side could be as high as $2 million. So he's now asking other private surgery centres across B.C. to "chip in" to a legal fund and he's also seeking donations from members of the public through a new website - www.charterhealth.ca - to which patients can post complaints about the health care system.

Donations to the fund are tax deductible since they flow through the Canadian Constitution Foundation, a registered charity supporting Day's side.

Ryan Jabs, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said since the case is before the courts, he couldn't talk about it. But he issued this comment: "Private clinics in B.C. must operate within the Medicare Protection Act. The Medicare Protection Act is designed to preserve a publicly managed and fiscally sustainable health care system for British Columbia and ensures access to medical care is based on need and not on an individual's ability to pay."

Day said the government has named 35 experts as witnesses. All of the plaintiffs, except for Khalfallah, have already undergone examinations for discovery. Day said he doesn't know how the government will be able to defend the "medical enslavement" of patients.

"Government lawyers will argue that the paralysis of a child, or the death of cancer patients, are worthwhile sacrifices for a system ranked low in the eyes of the developed world," Day said. "On the other hand, I guess some lawyers have historically been comfortable as they argued in favour of racial discrimination and apartheid, or of laws that criminalize abortion, homosexuality, or deny women the right to vote."

Relative to all other provinces, B.C. has for many years had a flourishing private surgery clinic industry even though, under federal and provincial laws, doctors are not supposed to direct-bill patients and clinics are not supposed to collect "facility fees."

The exception is for certain classes of patients who are allowed to obtain expedited treatment at private surgery centres, including WorkSafeBC claimants, federal prisoners, Armed Forces personnel, RCMP and patients from out of the province or country. Such exemptions were introduced by the NDP government in 1998 and have never been changed.

About 50,000 patients a year are believed to use private surgery centres.

Note : this information has been borrowed from public articles, reference; Cambie Surgery Centre website; and Sun Health Issues Reporter pfayerman@vancouversun.com