COSTS — AND HYPOCRISY — TAKE TOLL IN MEDICARE CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE
Dr. Brian Day nibbled at a lowfat muffin, muttering “probably a thousand calories,” sipped a morning coffee and tried to swallow his frustration.
Nearly a decade after he launched a landmark challenge of B.C.’s Medicare Protection Act, the marathon legal proceedings are bogged down and Day is crowdfunding through the Canadian Constitution Foundation to find $2 million to $3 million more to finish the case.
“It’s great that Jim Pattison gave $75 million to rebuild St. Paul’s, but if they just build operating rooms and wards and don’t have money to treat the patients — which is what will happen without reform — he’s wasted his money,” Day said.
“It’s true you don’t get a building named after you for donating to (our crowdfunding campaign), but compared to $75 million, we need $2 million or $3 million to fix the health system and make it like one of those radical right-wing countries Sweden, Norway, Denmark or France.”
He underscored the sarcasm, repeating the phrase “those radical right-wing countries” to refer to nations with mixed health-care systems that are still often saddled with the blame for the European nanny state.
“One of the reasons we’ve been forced into this (legal) adjournment is not just the economics — they didn’t want me saying this during the election,” Day said.
The B.C. Supreme Court trial, which began in September and adjourned last week, may resume on its first anniversary or, more likely, in October.
“By definition, this long trial is killing people in B.C.,” Day insisted. “By definition.
“They are dying and suffering on wait lists. Basically, the government lawyers are killing B.C. citizens (with the delay).”
The pugnacious 70-year-old working-class immigrant from Liverpool, England, and director of the private Cambie Surgery Centre admits he is frustrated and angry.
“I get transcripts and I can’t bear to review them because they make me puke,” Day said.
You don’t have to listen too closely to hear in Day’s critique the nascent notes of disenchantment that claimed Quebec physician Jacques Chaoulli. Despite his 2005 Supreme Court of Canada victory in a similar case, Chaoulli returned to his native France a few years later, disillusioned and disappointed at the persistence of the medical status quo.
As in that case, Day argues, B.C.’s constraints on private health care are unconstitutional if people are dying or their suffering is exacerbated by public health queues.
The justification for the restrictions to care — to protect “universality,” he said — is a ruse given existing exemptions for the military, the RCMP, prisoners, Workers’ Compensation Board clients, professional athletes, other VIPs and even health-care workers.
“How can you reconcile that in a free and democratic society?” Day said, noting private clinics see about 60,000 patients a year.
The orthopedic surgeon scoffed at the self-righteousness of his opponents.
“I don’t know how I am going to get out that these interveners … come to our clinic,” he said. “I don’t know how I’m going to get it out, but I’m going to hint really strongly at it.
“There’s a lot of hypocrisy going on here, and although I won’t be giving out Visa numbers, there is a lot of hypocrisy with our opponents.”
Day dismissed those who accused him of medical carpetbagging.
“When we started, among our founding shareholders were (the late) Milan Ilich, Jack Poole, the Woodwards. We had 22 shareholders who put in $100,000 each, and we borrowed the rest from the RBC,” he said.
“They did not put their money into this venture to gouge the public and make money off sick people. … (Those shareholders were responsible for) $100 million in donations to public hospitals — $100 million!”
He glanced around the Vancouver Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club.
“When I’m on the stand, I’ll produce evidence that (the Cambie clinic), on a $5,000 operation, we make 65 bucks,” he said. “You can’t run a business normally like that. If you go buy a suit for $800, you can be sure the (tailor) only paid $200 for it. Our margins are very narrow. A year ago, there were 70 private clinics (in B.C.), but 10 have closed in the last year.”
Day, though, is not about to throw in the towel. He is off to Quebec to debate the provincial health minister on Saturday, and a week later will be in Ottawa to take on former NDP premier and former federal health minister Ujjal Dosanjh.
The data is what matters, Day insisted, and a soon-to-bereleased study will prove him out — it suggests some women may be developing cancer while waiting for screening tests.
“Imagine that is my mother, sister or daughter that is scheduled for an elective operation with no cancer, but while they are on a two-year wait list (she) develops cancer?” he said.
“How evil is that for a health system? And those people are not allowed — under the law — to go get it done privately or buy insurance?”
There’s a lot of hypocrisy going on here … there is a lot of hypocrisy with our opponents.