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Canadian Constitution FoundationMcCreith & Holmes v. Ontario: CCF Publications«McCreith & Holmes v. Ontario» «Related Media» «CCF Video» «Related Audio» «Related Video» Safety valve illusoryKaren Selick The Windsor Star, November 30, 2009
One reason many Canadians love the government's health insurance system is their widely held belief that anyone who needs medical treatment gets it -- regardless of ability to pay. While the existence of waiting lists is common knowledge, part of Ontario's folklore is that there's a "safety valve" for patients needing urgent care. Theoretically, when Ontario's hospitals lack capacity, patients can be treated outside Canada and be reimbursed by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) for the expense. A tribunal decision handed down on Oct. 20, 2009 to 68-year-old Lindsay McCreith illustrates just how illusory the safety valve can be. [ Read More ]
The Shona Holmes StoryJohn Carpay and Karen Selick
Shona Holmes is a 45-year-old wife, mother and soon-to-be grandmother from Waterdown, Ontario who could have lost her vision and suffered other major health problems had she relied on the Ontario government’s health care system. At great personal expense, Shona traveled to the United States to recieve treatment for her illness. Treatment that the Ontario government was willing to wait months to give her. Surgery in the US saved Shona from potential blindness, as well as other complications and possibly even death.
Shona, along with fellow plaintiff Lindsay McCreith, are challenging Ontario's unconstitutional legislative monopoly on health care which effectively prevents Ontarians from accessing essential health care services outside of the government monopoly system and its waiting lists. As SCC Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin said in 2005, "Access to a waiting list is not access to health care."
 Taking Ontario's health monopoly to courtJohn Carpay National Post, May 3, 2007
Ontario's health care monopoly almost killed Lindsay McCreith. After suffering a seizure in January 2006, the 66-year old Newmarket resident was told he had a brain tumour. But he would have to wait four-and-a-half months to obtain an MRI to rule out the possibility that it was cancerous. Unwilling to risk the progression of what might be cancer, Mr. McCreith obtained an MRI in Buffalo, which revealed the tumour was malignant. Even with the diagnosis in hand, the Ontario system still refused to provide timely treatment, so Mr. McCreith had surgery in Buffalo to remove the cancerous brain tumour in March, 2006.
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