WHAT: The Council of Canadians will be both outside and inside a Vancouver court room on Tuesday, September 6 for the start of up to six months of hearings on a lawsuit that has major implications for the future of our public health care system.
Colleen Fuller with Independent Patient Voices Network will be addressing media at a 9:00 a.m. press scrum before the beginning of the hearings.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 6, 9:00 a.m (PDT)
WHERE: B.C. Supreme Court, corner of Nelson and Hornby, Vancouver
WHY: Dr. Brian Day launched his lawsuit in July 2012, claiming that British Columbia’s ban on the purchase of private insurance for medically necessary services already covered by the public system is a violation of Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Day argues that if you have money, you should have the right to buy your way to the front of the line. Now, after many delays, the case will be heard next week.
“This case puts medicare in Canada on trial. Make no mistake, this attack on medicare isn’t about finding real solutions to public health challenges or making medicare better, it is about greed and opening the door for two-tiered U.S.-style care,” says Michael Butler, Health Campaigner with the Council of Canadians. “Dr. Profit is jeopardizing the universal public health care system everyone in Canada relies on for personal gain.”
While this case is provincial, the outcome will have national implications for Canada's universal, public health care system.
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