Clinic operator, proponent of privatized health care heads to court next week
VANCOUVER — A self-styled champion of privatized health care is bringing his fight to British Columbia Supreme Court on Tuesday for the start of a months-long trial he says is about patients’ access to affordable treatment, while his opponents accuse him of trying to gut the core of Canada’s medical system.
Dr. Brian Day of Cambie Surgery Centre in Vancouver is challenging B.C.’s ban on the purchase of private insurance for medically necessary services that are already covered by the public system. He argues the restriction violates patients’ constitutional rights by forcing them to endure gruelling wait times that often exacerbate their health problems.
“This is about making medicare better,” said Day.
A statement from the B.C. Health Ministry, the defendant in the case, said its priority is to uphold the Medicare Protection Act and the benefits it safeguards. It declined further comment while the case is before the courts.