For immediate
release February
19, 2002
Liberals
Appeal Landmark Autism Decision
Economists say lack of autism treatment
will cost taxpayers millions
BC’s Government is in the Court of Appeal, Wednesday, February 20 and Thursday, February 21, challenging a landmark BC Supreme Court decision won by families of children with autism. The BC Supreme Court has already judged the government guilty of directly discriminating against children with the neurological health disorder, by not providing funding for the only effective treatment known, Lovaas-ABA. In opposition, they applauded the decision; tomorrow the Liberals begin trying to justify their new opposition to it.
Premier Gordon Campbell and Attorney General Geoff Plant say the appeal has nothing to do with autism or the court finding that their Government violates children’s Section 15(1) equality rights under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They say the appeal is needed because courts must not have the right to order government to fund medically necessary health care. The Liberal government is fighting to maintain 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 the Liberals emphatically said and promised while they were the Official Opposition:
• “The NDP decision to appeal
the recent ruling of Madam Justice Allan reflects a government that has
consistently failed to act in the best interests of children.” — Gordon
Campbell, October 18, 2000, in a letter to a concerned parent
• “It’s time for the
government to stop hiding behind the courts. Let’s get on with providing
treatment to children with autism as the courts have ordered.” — Colin
Hansen, now Minister of Health Services, September, 2000.
• “I
think it's disgraceful that the government has decided to drag this through the
court for many, many more months when the courts rightfully ordered the
government to provide the service that was necessary to those children.”
— Christy Clark, now Deputy Premier and Minister of Education on CBC
TV’s Canada Now.
•
“This [the appeal] disgusts me completely. I’m so mad.
The Government should make the decision to fund.” — Rich
Coleman, now Solicitor General, September 5, 2000 in the Langley Advance News.
• “The decision to appeal is shameful. It’s not only shameful, it’s unconscionable. There should be a tremendous public outcry over this.” — Lynn Stevens, now Minister 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 program
that has been proven to help these children. To deny children a quality of life
otherwise 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, when
we know a proven treatment method?” — Ted Nebbeling, now
Minister of State for Community Charter, June, 1998
The prestigious Vancouver economic consulting firm of Columbia Pacific Consulting produced a study presented in BC Supreme Court showing that medically necessary autism treatment will save between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000 in tax dollars per child over their lifetime. The allegedly cost-conscious, fiscally-minded BC Government now reject the economic evidence, in favour of an ideological appeal that will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, as these untreated suffering children unavoidably move into Government care facilities as they age. That is their sad destiny without effective, scientifically-proven, early autism treatment.
The Government’s appeal of the Auton decision takes place on February 20th and 21st in the Court of Appeal, at the Downtown Vancouver Law Courts.
- 30 -
and the
BC Government appeal, please call Dr. Sabrina Freeman at (604) 534-6956
Email:
skfreeman@featbc.org | Website:
http://www.featbc.org
“Broken
Promises” brief available at: http://www.featbc.org/brokenpromises.pdf