Close X
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
ADVT 
National

Appeal Court Tosses Out Constitutionality Challenge Over Health Care

The Canadian Press, 10 Sep, 2015 12:23 PM
    OKOTOKS, Alta. — A former Calgary-area dentist who paid for back surgery in Montana rather than wait to have it done in Alberta has lost his challenge of a lower-court ruling that determined he could not sue the government over a delay in getting the procedure done in his own province.
     
    Darcy Allen, who is from Okotoks, Alta., had argued unsuccessfully in Court of Queen's Bench that the Alberta government's monopoly on health care was unconstitutional.
     
    Allen's legal team had sought to have a 2005 Supreme Court of Canada decision expanded to Alberta.
     
    That decision struck down a Quebec law that banned private insurance for medically necessary services.
     
    However, a Court of Queen's Bench judge ruled Allen had failed to establish a sufficient link between the government's practices and the harm he suffered.
     
    On Wednesday, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled against him again, concluding that his "attempt to adjudicate the constitutionality of the Alberta statute in a summary fashion was inappropriate" and the issues raised in the case would require a full trial.
     
    Allen injured his back playing hockey in late 2007 and was told it could take up to eight months to get an MRI scan under public health care.
     
    A scan he had done at a private clinic confirmed disc damage and when pain medication and other treatments didn't work, the dentist was told he needed surgery.
     
    He was scheduled for an operation in September 2011, but he instead paid $77,000 to have it done in Montana in December 2009.
     
    Allen, who eventually had to give up his practice due to his condition, had originally wanted to sue the province for damages resulting from the time he spent on MRI and surgical wait lists.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Chemicals, Materials Used In Drug Labs Found At Suspicious Surrey Fire

    Chemicals, Materials Used In Drug Labs Found At Suspicious Surrey Fire
    The fire started just after 9 a.m. Monday at a rural property on 40 Avenue, near 157 Street.

    Chemicals, Materials Used In Drug Labs Found At Suspicious Surrey Fire

    Goal Near For Western Canada March To Remember Missing, Murdered Women

    Goal Near For Western Canada March To Remember Missing, Murdered Women
    A difficult trek aimed at raising awareness of a tragic problem is less than a week from its conclusion as participants of the Walk for All Missing and Murdered have reached Terrace, B.C. 

    Goal Near For Western Canada March To Remember Missing, Murdered Women

    Art Or Science? Don't Ask, Says Renowned Canadian Dinosaur Painter

    Art Or Science? Don't Ask, Says Renowned Canadian Dinosaur Painter
    His portraits are so compelling you can almost hear his subjects tramp through the forest and smell their heaving breath.

    Art Or Science? Don't Ask, Says Renowned Canadian Dinosaur Painter

    SPCA Wants Quebec To Ban Keeping Dogs Tied Outside Around The Clock

    SPCA Wants Quebec To Ban Keeping Dogs Tied Outside Around The Clock
    The Montreal SPCA is asking the Quebec government to ban keeping dogs chained around the clock as part of an upcoming overhaul of the province's animal-rights legislation.

    SPCA Wants Quebec To Ban Keeping Dogs Tied Outside Around The Clock

    Harper Absolves All His Staff Except Wright In Duffy Affair

    Harper Absolves All His Staff Except Wright In Duffy Affair
    Stephen Harper says only one member of his staff in the Prime Minister's Office acted irresponsibly or unethically during the Mike Duffy affair.

    Harper Absolves All His Staff Except Wright In Duffy Affair

    To Snip Or Not To Snip: Pediatric Society Updates Advice On Circumcision

    To Snip Or Not To Snip: Pediatric Society Updates Advice On Circumcision
    Put a bunch of parents of young children together and bring up the topic of circumcision and — well, let's just say the discussion is sure to get lively.

    To Snip Or Not To Snip: Pediatric Society Updates Advice On Circumcision