Conservative MP Stephen Fletcher, at the archly named "Rally for Canada" Dec 2008 Ottawa
By Stephen Pate, NJN Network, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada, March 28, 2009
Conservative MP Stephen Fletcher who has a spinal cord injury SCI from a 1996 accident, lost his case for full coverage of his attendant care. The Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the case without comment. Fletcher’s lawyer already knew the answer would be no additional coverage beyond the $36,000 provided by the provincial health insurance system in Manitoba. It’s hard to understand Fletcher’s claim since he would have received an insurance settlement from his accident plus generous coverage for life as an MP. Why did he want the Province of Manitoba to provide even more coverage? Obviously the Supreme Court felt less than an urgent need to hear his case. The needs and rights of the disabled in Canada are not advance by those with an exaggerated sense of entitlement. Mr. Fletcher’s income and benefits would place him in the top 3% of Canadians with disabilities, which is hardly a position of need. We do applaud him for being the first SCI disabled member of parliament and cabinet.
In Auton (Guardian ad litem of) v. British Columbia (Attorney General), [2004] 3 S.C.R. 657, 2004 SCC 78 ,The Supreme Court of Canada held that the government in providing the same care for all classes of Canadians could not be forced by law to provide more care for one or more citizens.
In this case, the government’s conduct did not infringe the petitioners’ equality rights. The benefit claimed — funding for all medically required treatment — is not provided by law. The Canada Health Act and the relevant British Columbia legislation do not promise that any Canadian will receive funding for all medically required treatment. All that is conferred is core funding for services delivered by medical practitioners and, at a province’s discretion, funding or partial funding for non-core services, which in the case of British Columbia are delivered by classes of “health care practitioners” named by the province.
Auton is law and the parents of 4 autistic parents in PEI found it applied to their situation when they tried to force the Province to cover additional expenses above the amount provided for all persons with disabilities. They did win the right to unlink their personal income from the income testing which determined coverage for the autistic child or young adult.
Canoe By THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA – A paralyzed Tory MP has lost a bid to have the Supreme Court of Canada hear his case against Manitoba’s public insurer.
The court refused Thursday to hear Steven Fletcher’s appeal against a decision by the Manitoba Public Insurance Corp., which denied him more money for full-time care. As usual, the court gave no reasons for its decision.
Fletcher, a Manitoba MP and junior cabinet minister, was paralyzed from the neck down in a 1996 accident in which his car hit a moose.
He requires round-the-clock attendant care, which his lawyer said costs more than $100,000 a year. The public insurer provides only $3,000 a month in such cases.
Lawyer Sidney Green said bureaucrats were punishing Fletcher because of his Conservative politics.
He sued for more compensation, but was denied. The Manitoba courts refused to hear his appeal.
Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling effectively ends the case.
Fletcher was elected to the House of Commons in 2004, the first quadriplegic to win a seat. He was re-elected in 2006 and 2008.
Last October, the 36-year-old was given a junior cabinet post as minister of state for democratic reform.
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