In a 4-3 decision in June 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Quebec government cannot ban people from paying for private insurance for health-care procedures covered under medicare. The justices argued that since the public system had failed to provide access to certain services (MRI tests, cataract surgery, etc.) in a timely fashion, patients had the right to seek private insurance and treatment. From an insider's perspective, Kevin Smith will discuss the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision on healthcare delivery, looking especially at the role that the private sector might play in Canada's future.
Kevin Smith, PhD
Kevin P.D. Smith is President and CEO of St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and CEO of St. Mary's General Hospital, Kitchener. He is an Associate Professor of McMaster University's School of Medicine and has a PhD from the University of Sussex in England. He is a frequently invited commentator on health services issues at international meetings and in the news media.