[FEAT BC Admin]

A story on The Court of Appeal hearings is in the Sun.
Thank you to Avery Raskin for making it available in digital form.

The article can be downloaded at this address:
https://featbc.org/downloads/Sun_02_21_02.pdf

[FEAT BC Admin]

Correction to the previous message regarding the
the FEAT BC press release — it is available at the following web address:
http://www.featbc.org/legal_issues/Appeal_Release_02_19_02.html

[FEAT BC Admin]

The BC Government and families of children with autism are in BC Court of Appeal regarding the long running dispute over universal access to medically necessary treatment for autism. A press release has been issued by FEAT BC. It is available at the following web address:
http://www.featbc.org/legal_issues/Appeal_Release_02_19_02.html

[FEAT BC Admin]

Thank you, Mike Lewis, for the tax publication, Information Concerning People With Disabilities. It's available for download at this web address –> http://www.featbc.org/revenue_canada/

[FEAT BC Admin]

In the Vancouver Province today, please visit
https://featbc.org/downloads/province_02_07_02.pdf

[FEAT BC Admin]

Correction to the previous post.

The Globe and Mail article on Norrah's Whitney's autism Human Rights
Complaint is available at:
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/printarticle/gam/20020124/ULUKEN

[FEAT BC Admin]

Regarding the Whitney Human Rights complaint filed today with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Norrah Whitney and legal counsel — Michael Loughlan — have made available a ‘template’ of the complaint document filed for Norrah’s son, Luke.

For discussion board members residing in Ontario, please be advised that in your province, anyone can file a human rights complaint as an individual, and do so by mail.

Mailing address:

Ontario Human Rights Commission
8th floor, 180 Dundas St. West
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2R9
Ph. 1-800-308-5561

Parents interested in filing their own complaint need only change some of the basic parts of the ‘template’ complaint document to customize name, address, etc. The Ontario Human Rights Complaint ‘template’ is available for download from the FEAT BC server in two formats:

1) Text editable MS Word
– click here –> https://featbc.org/downloads/ON_Human_Rights.doc

2) Adobe Acrobat PDF
– click here –> https://featbc.org/downloads/ON_Human_Rights.pdf

The Globe and Mail article on Norrah's autism Human Rights Complaint is available at:

– click here –> http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/printarticle/gam/20020124/ULUKEN
(copy and paste into browser location or address line)

[FEAT BC Admin]

TORONTO GLOBE + MAIL, January 24, 2002
*********************************************

Ontario woman sues over son's care

By GAY ABBATE

Thursday, January 24, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A4

The six-year-old great-grandson of a man who helped develop
Ontario's health-insurance plan will be the centre of a battle
with the province over the loss of his medical treatment.

Today, Luke Burrows's family will file a complaint against the
government of Premier Mike Harris with the Ontario Human
Rights Commission in Toronto.

Luke is autistic, and without the special — and very expensive
— treatment he requires, his mother says he may never learn
the skills to lead a relatively normal life.

The commission will have to adjudicate what services and
treatments the Ontario government should pay for under the
Ontario Health Insurance Plan.

The boy's great-grandfather, John Leo Whitney, helped
develop the health-insurance plan that promised universal
medical care.

For the past year, the government has financed an intensive
program for autistic children, known as Applied Behaviour
Analysis, or ABA. To be eligible, children must be under the
age of 6.

And for Luke, who just turned 6, his mother Norrah Whitney
argued that's discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights
Code and a violation of his constitutional rights.

"If the province pays for treatment to a four-year-old, then it
should provide it to a six-year-old," she said in an interview.
"It's illegal to discriminate based on age."

The treatment can cost as much as $63,000 a year, beyond the
ability of most families, she said, adding that getting treatment
for Luke has eaten up all her financial resources and destroyed
her marriage.

Ontario is facing two lawsuits resulting from the cutoff age. A
$70-million lawsuit has been brought on behalf of 22 families;
the other by a single family.

The British Columbia Supreme Court ruled on a suit in July of
2000 that the treatment is "medically necessary" and should be
financed by the province. It also ruled that failure to pay for
this treatment was discriminatory and violated the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms.

Ms. Whitney said that Luke has made great strides since he
began treatment. The silent, morose child who bashed his head
against the wall and didn't know his own mother now speaks in
sentences, reads at the Grade 1 level and was able to blow out
the candles on his sixth-birthday cake, she said.

But he needs more treatment if he is to continue making
progress and not backslide, she said.

The government, she said, should spend some money now to
help the hundreds of children in Ontario who need treatment to
avoid spending millions of dollars on keeping them in
institutions.

[FEAT BC Admin]

The ongoing autism treatment dispute in the media …

CKNW Radio, "Bill Good Show": FEAT BC Director Jean Lewis and Deborah Antifaev discuss broken election promises made by Gordon Campbell's BC Liberal Government regarding autism treatment.

To hear the show –> http://www.featbc.org/the_media/

[FEAT BC Admin]

Many members of this discussion group may have heard CBC’s radio news broadcasts this morning regarding James Cucek, son of Linda and Stan. The news was about how the BC Government is arrogantly ignoring its own Children’s Commission findings regarding autism treatment for James, in particular, and the treatment rights of older children in general.

After its formal 2001 Children’s Commission Tribunal hearing on harm being done to James, the Children’s Commission issued a report, finding the Cuceks' son MUST receive government funded ‘Intensive Behavioural’ autism treatment. Significantly, the Commission arrived at this ruling even though James is older than Government’s arbitrary age-six cut off for autism treatment services.

In a shocking display of indifference, Government has not even BOTHERED to respond to the Children’s Commission report, let alone comply with it.

The Children’s Commission autism report is groundbreaking, which is likely why the silence is deafening across the waters in Victoria. The twenty-one page report is available — by permission from the Cucek family — at https://featbc.org/downloads/childrens_commission.pdf

Isaac (Miki*s Dad)
Volunteer Board Admin.

[Author]

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