PDF Version: Private Health Care and the Law Part 2: Lessons for Alberta
Case Commented On: Cambie Surgeries Corporation v British Columbia (Attorney General), 2020 BCSC 1310 (CanLII)
On September 10, Justice Steeves of the BC Supreme Court released his decision in Cambie Surgeries Corporation v British Columbia (Attorney General). The driving force behind this case was Dr. Brian Day, an orthopedic surgeon who founded a private surgical clinic in Vancouver that engaged in illegal billing practices. When the BC government cracked down on those practices, Day responded by arguing that the combination of long wait times and laws limiting private funding for insured services violated the Charter.
It is important to note that this case only considered private funding for medically necessary hospital and physician services (i.e. those addressed in the Canada Health Act, RSC 1985, c C-6) and not the plethora of other health services for which there is a patchwork of public and private funding, such as drugs and dental care. In a previous post, I examined Justice Steeves’ constitutional analysis. Here, I summarize the international evidence on private health care and the implications of this decision for Alberta in light of recent moves to increase private surgical clinics and a vote at the United Conservative Party’s (UCP) Annual General Meeting supporting privately financed health care.