Case information

Constitutional law — Charter of Rights — Right to life, liberty and security of the person — Medicare Protection Act limits supply of private services by making delivery of medically necessary services in private facilities economically nonviable for enrolled physicians — Prohibition alleged to violate patients’ rights to life, liberty and security of the person by increasing risk of negative outcomes for patients due to wait times for health-care services under public health-care system — Whether impugned provisions infringe right to life, liberty or security of person — How Act’s purposes relate to suppression and prohibition of access to private health care — Whether depriving patients of timely care accords with principles of fundamental justice — Whether inability to access private health-care services gives rise to Charter rights or interests which need to be balanced against s. 7 rights fundamental justice analysis — Whether infringement of rights to life, liberty, and security of person of patients justified under s. 1 — Threshold for establishing deprivation of s. 7 rights — Whether seriousness of harm must be established to engage s. 7 rights — When, relative to harm, claim may be brought — Whether law constraining patient choice regarding medical care engages right to liberty.

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Sections 17 and 18 of the Medicare Protection Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 286, limit the supply of private services by making the delivery of medically necessary services in private facilities economically nonviable for enrolled physicians. Section 45 prevents the sale of private insurance for services covered under the Medical Services Plan. The applicants say that these sections are unconstitutional because they prevent patients in British Columbia from accessing private medical treatment even though the public system cannot provide the necessary care in a timely manner. There was no dispute that patients in British Columbia are waiting longer than the benchmark wait times. They say that this amounts to a breach of the patients’ life, liberty and security of the person under ss. 7 and 15 of the Charter. The s. 15 claim is not before this Court.

The trial judge dismissed claims under both s. 7 and s. 15. The appeal was dismissed.