Poste - Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children

Voices
of Parents
Alberta pays for leg braces only once a year,
but my six-year-old needs new ones every six
months (at a cost of about $2,000 a pair). He
also requires inserts for his shoes, at about
$400 per pair and that’s not covered either. 162
The health plan covers only $300 of a $1200
hearing aid and that’s only part of the hearing
system. 163
My child’s special enemas cost $80.00 per
month and that’s not covered. 164
All provinces have case management systems to integrate
community-based health care services for a child with a
disability or chronic illness but a lack of coordination by
government departments can lead to gaps in services.
Yukon has no case management system at all and the
Northwest Territories was still developing one for preschool
children in 1997 (and already had it in place for schoolaged
children). 165 Manitoba pediatrian Brian Postl argues
that case management systems need to unify referral and
intake systems. 166 Researchers Hayes, Hollander et al.
recommend research to increase effectiveness and
efficiency of service delivery for children, especially those
with disabilities. 167
The Canadian Pediatric Society strongly supports the right
of every child to receive necessary medical care to improve
or prolong life. 168
Usually the best interests of the child will favour
the provision of life-sustaining treatment. This is
self-evident where the result of the treatment will
be the survival of a child with no or little
handicap, but should be equally true even when a
chronic physical or mental handicap continues to
be present. 169
Case Law
H O W D O E S C A N A D A M E A S U R E U P ?
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Health care commentator André Blanchet says that in
practice, medical treatment for people with disabilities
does not meet legislative or policy goals for equal health
care provision, citing “conscious or unconscious value
judgments made by professionals about quality of life of
people with a disability.” These judgments are reinforced
by concerns about the costs of treating and maintaining
the lives of children with severe disabilities. 171
In 1995, an Alberta hospital denied a request to add a
17-year-old boy with Down syndrome to the waiting list
for a lung transplant. 172 However, this decision was
overturned after media attention, a letter-writing
campaign and public demonstrations led the hospital to
draft a policy to support needed transplants for people
with intellectual disabilities. 173
Due to the many obstacles to health care for Aboriginal
children (jurisdictional conflicts, lack of services, remote
communities, etc.) 174 the Royal Commission on
Aboriginal Peoples recommended long-term structural
changes to the Canadian health care system and
improvements in prevention, treatment and
rehabilitation. 175 The Commission also noted that some
federal services and programs are available to registered
Indians and Inuit but not other Aboriginal peoples. 176 Its
recommendations included:
• reorganization of existing health and social services
under Aboriginal control;
• adaptation of mainstream services to better meet the
needs of Aboriginal people and encourage their full
participation in decision making; and
• meaningful efforts for cultural sensitivity and
responsiveness to the needs of Aboriginal people. 177
Technology and Disability
Technology can improve the quality of life and
integration of persons with disabilities in society with
useful assistive devices, improved communications and
medical advances. Some Canadian jurisdictions provide
funding to improve access to assistive devices. However,
there is concern that genetic research leads to questions
In Eldridge v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 170 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that hospitals, as providers of
government-sanctioned medically necessary services, have a constitutional duty under Charter s. 15 to provide equal
access to all government services. Hospitals are now required to provide sign language interpreters for their patients
who are hearing impaired.