For Immediate Release MEDIA ADVISORY
October 11, 2005
U of T Faculty of Law and U of T Press Expedite Book to Encourage Debate on Medicare
(Toronto, ON) — A book containing academic papers from a University of Toronto, Faculty of Law conference held just three weeks ago is being published today by University of Toronto Press (UTP) — a record time only accomplished once before in UTP’s history.A book launch will be held tonight from 4 to 6 pm in the Faculty’s Rowell Room to celebrate.
To help inform urgent policy decisions about the role of private health insurance in Canadian Medicare,copies of Access to Care, Access to Justice; The Legal Debate Over Private Health Insurance (ISBN 0-8020-9420-1), will be sent to Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Health, Ministers of Justice and Deputy Ministers of Justice and to key opinion leaders in health care policy.
Edited by U of T Professors Colleen M. Flood, Kent Roach and Lorne Sossin, the book is being released on the heels of the September 16th conference of the same name, which was organized by the LawSchool and held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Over 250 people attended the conference, which was widely covered in the media.
The goal of the expedited book is to contribute to the debate on private health care expected this fall throughout legislatures, courts and election campaigns following June’s Chaoulli decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. The decision struck down Quebec laws prohibiting the sale of private health insurance on the basis that they violate Quebec's Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Although the narrow 4:3 decision is limited to Quebec, it has implications that flow far beyond those borders.
Because the Court reserved its decision for a year, there are only eight months left for the Quebec government to remedy the violation or prepare for the introduction of private health insurance. As well, the other provinces will have to decide how to respond to the Supreme Court’s controversial decision and the new role the courts may play in the way health care is delivered throughout Canada.
Professor Flood says Canadians deserve to know how the Chaoulli decision will affect them and what it means for the future of health care in Canada. “This is a critical juncture in Medicare's history and decision makers in every province need to discuss how this decision will affect the course of Canada's most enduring social program,” she says.
The Law School's constitutional scholars and experts in health law and policy join with leading national and international academics and policy-makers to discuss the implications of the Supreme Court's Chaoulli decision and the role of the court in the future of private health care in Canada. Chapters include topics such asWhat Did the Court Decide in Chaoulli, Evidence in the Chaoulli Case, Possible Governmental Responses to Chaoulli, and Chaoulliand the Future of Medicare. The papers are written by leading scholars and commentators; contributors include Roy Romanow, Stanley Hartt, Claude Forget, Andrew Petter, Greg Marchildon, Peter Russell, and many more.
WHAT
Book launch forAccess to Care, Access to Justice; The Legal Debate Over Private Health Insurance
WHEN
Tuesday, October 11
TIME
4:00pm – 6:00pm
WHERE
Rowell Room, Flavelle House, 78 Queens Park Crescent
Refreshments will be available. Copies of the book will be available for purchase from UTP at the event.Or, the book is available at any bookstore for $35 or by calling UTP at 1-800-565-9523. Order forms are also available at
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Kathleen O’Brien, Communications Officer, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, Tel. 416.946.8188 or