British Columbia's long-running legal dispute with parents of autistic children will be resolved in the Supreme Court of Canada.
In 2000, the BC Court of Appeal upheld an earlier ruling that found the province had violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by denying treatment that was deemed medically necessary for autistic children. The therapy can cost up to $60 000 a year. There are an estimated 1400 autistic children in BC, and the court removed the age limit of 6 years for accessing funding, setting the maximum age at 19 (CMAJ 2002;167 [11]: 1278).
Chris Hinkson, one of the lawyers representing the 4 families named in the original lawsuit, says the Supreme Court's May 16 announcement that it would hear an appeal of the BC rulings is significant. “They will only hear cases that they are persuaded are of national importance,” he says. Several provinces are now facing similar suits.
Michael Lewis of the BC Autism Society is “ fairly optimistic” about the outcome and says governments in Alberta and Ontario have already made some recent “pre-emptive moves” to improve their funding for autistic children.
The only similar case to reach the country's highest court involved deaf people who had lost translators due to government cutbacks — services which the court restored. This case is expected to be heard in early 2004. — Heather Kent, Vancouver