Close X
Friday, November 29, 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

    Ontario First Nations Chiefs Raise Funds To Pay For Inquiry Into Missing Women

    First Nations Chiefs in Ontario are launching an online fundraising campaign to pay for their own public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.

    Ontario First Nations Chiefs Raise Funds To Pay For Inquiry Into Missing Women

    Family, Friends Gather To Remember University Student Police Say Was Murdered

    Family, Friends Gather To Remember University Student Police Say Was Murdered
    William Sandeson, a 22-year-old varsity track athlete who was about to start classes at Dalhousie's medical school, was charged with first-degree murder on Aug. 20, four days after Samson was reported missing.

    Family, Friends Gather To Remember University Student Police Say Was Murdered

    Provincial Calls For More Syrian Refugees Misses Money Question: Expert

    Provincial Calls For More Syrian Refugees Misses Money Question: Expert
    University of Toronto sociology professor Monica Boyd said such requests amount to asking the federal government to pay the tab — about $35,000 per refugee family in the first year.

    Provincial Calls For More Syrian Refugees Misses Money Question: Expert

    Bank Of Canada Keeps Key Rate On Hold At 0.5 Per Cent As Resource Sector Adjusts

    Bank Of Canada Keeps Key Rate On Hold At 0.5 Per Cent As Resource Sector Adjusts
    OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate on hold at 0.5 per cent on Wednesday and said the country's resource sector continues to adjust to lower prices for oil and other commodities.

    Bank Of Canada Keeps Key Rate On Hold At 0.5 Per Cent As Resource Sector Adjusts

    Syrian Refugee Queries Draws Catcalls From Conservative Supporters

    Syrian Refugee Queries Draws Catcalls From Conservative Supporters
    A Conservative supporter at a Stephen Harper campaign event heckled a reporter Wednesday who was asking about the government's handling of the Syrian refugee crisis.

    Syrian Refugee Queries Draws Catcalls From Conservative Supporters

    Jury Selection In Dennis Oland's Second-degree Murder Trial Enters Day 2

    Jury Selection In Dennis Oland's Second-degree Murder Trial Enters Day 2
    Jury selection continued Wednesday for the trial of Dennis Oland, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in the death of his father, high-profile businessman Richard Oland.

    Jury Selection In Dennis Oland's Second-degree Murder Trial Enters Day 2