Today the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the application for leave to appeal from the decision of the BC Court of Appeal in Cambie Surgeries Corporation v. British Columbia (Attorney General).
The BC Court of Appeal upheld the outcome of the trial judgment and finding that the extra-billing ban and the private-insurance ban do not violate the Charter.
The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision marks the end of a lengthy legal battle dating back to 2009 that sought to overturn key provisions in the BC Medicare Protection Act that ensure equitable access to medically necessary services.
Since 2009, Alison M. Latimer, KC has acted for a coalition of intervenors in the case including Dr. Duncan Etches, Dr. Robert Woollard, Glyn Townson, Thomas McGregor, British Columbia Friends of Medicare Society, and Canadian Doctors for Medicare, who believed in defending the public health care system.