Liberals use or ignore Charter to suit their political ends
Date: Thursday, July 14 @ 16:24:28 CDT
Topic: Conservative Party
14 July 2005
OTTAWA – Official Opposition Health Critic Steven Fletcher, M.P. for Charleswood – St. James – Assiniboia, expressed his displeasure that the federal government has endorsed the Quebec Government’s request for an 18-month stay on the Supreme Court of Canada judgment striking down a ban on private health insurance in the province.
“The Liberals are phony defenders of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They say they never fail to endorse judge-made law but when a ruling goes against their political plans, they suddenly lose all respect for the judicial process,” said Fletcher. “The Supreme Court has ruled that waiting lists constitute a threat to Quebecers’ lives. The government is mistaken if it thinks it can delay fixing this significant threat for eighteen months.”
On June 9, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of a claim made by Quebecers Jacques Chaoulli and George Zeliotis that long waiting lists violated their guarantees to life and security under the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Quebec Government recently asked for an 18-month stay, claiming it needed time to assess the implications of the ruling.
“In eighteen months, how many people will suffer needlessly while they wait for medical treatment? How many people will die?” asked Fletcher. “The Court ruling has revealed once and for all how the health care system has deteriorated under Liberal Party rule. The government has a responsibility to fix the problem it created and to do it now.”
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