For immediaterelease February19, 2002

LiberalsAppeal Landmark Autism Decision

Economists say lack of autism treatmentwill cost taxpayers millions

BC’s Government is in the Court of Appeal, Wednesday, February 20and Thursday, February 21, challenging a landmark BC Supreme Court decision wonby families of children with autism. The BC Supreme Court has already judgedthe government guilty of directly discriminating against children with theneurological health disorder, by not providing funding for the only effective treatment known, Lovaas-ABA. Inopposition, they applauded the decision; tomorrow the Liberals begin trying tojustify their new opposition to it.

Premier Gordon Campbell and Attorney General Geoff Plant say the appealhas nothing to do with autism or the court finding that their Governmentviolates children’s Section 15(1) equality rights under Canada’sCharter of Rights and Freedoms. They say the appeal is needed because courts must not have the right toorder government to fund medically necessary health care.  The Liberal government is fighting tomaintain its “right” to freely discriminate against disabled,defenseless children, without a judge ever looking over their shoulder saying,“No more.” Meanwhile, their appeal contradicts everything theLiberals emphatically said and promised while they were the OfficialOpposition:

• “The NDP decision to appealthe recent ruling of Madam Justice Allan reflects a government that hasconsistently failed to act in the best interests of children.” — GordonCampbell, October 18, 2000, in a letter to a concerned parent

• “It’s time for thegovernment to stop hiding behind the courts. Let’s get on with providingtreatment to children with autism as the courts have ordered.” — ColinHansen, now Minister of Health Services, September, 2000.

• “Ithink it's disgraceful that the government has decided to drag this through thecourt for many, many more months when the courts rightfully ordered thegovernment to provide the service that was necessary to those children.”— Christy Clark, now Deputy Premier and Minister of Education on CBCTV’s Canada Now.

•“This [the appeal] disgusts me completely. I’m so mad. The Government should make the decision to fund.” — RichColeman, now Solicitor General, September 5, 2000 in the Langley Advance News.

•“The decision to appeal is shameful. It’s not only shameful, it’sunconscionable. There should be atremendous public outcry over this.” — Lynn Stevens, nowMinister of State for Women’s Equality, in the Langley Advance News,September 5, 2000.

•“I am appalled with the lack of government understanding of a programthat has been proven to help these children. To deny children a quality of lifeotherwise unattainable, condemning them to a life sentence in an institution,this is a negligence which should be considered criminal.  How can we deny a child our help, whenwe know a proven treatment method?” — Ted Nebbeling, nowMinister of State for Community Charter, June, 1998

The prestigious Vancouver economic consulting firm ofColumbia Pacific Consulting produced a study presented in BC Supreme Courtshowing that medically necessary autism treatment will save between $1,000,000and $2,000,000 in tax dollars per childover their lifetime. The allegedlycost-conscious, fiscally-minded BC Government now reject the economic evidence,in favour of an ideological appeal that will cost taxpayers hundredsof millions of dollars, as these untreatedsuffering children unavoidably move into Government care facilities as they age.That is their sad destiny without effective, scientifically-proven, earlyautism treatment.

The Government’s appeal of the Auton decisiontakes place on February 20th and 21st in the Court of Appeal, at the DowntownVancouver Law Courts.

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For more information on medically necessary autism treatment

and theBC Government appeal, please call Dr. Sabrina Freeman at (604) 534-6956

Email:skfreeman@featbc.org | Website:http://www.featbc.org

“BrokenPromises” brief available at: http://www.featbc.org/brokenpromises.pdf