Lieberman award. Section 15 of the Charter and the allocation of resources in health care: a comment on Auton v. British Columbia.

On 19 November 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Auton (Guardian ad litem of) v. British Columbia (Attorney General). Contrary to both the lower courts, the Court held that the refusal of the Province of British Columbia to fund a particular treatment for autistic children did not violate the right to equality under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter). As McLachlin C.J.C. explained, the issue before the Court was “not what the public health system should provide, which is a matter for Parliament and the legislature. The issue [was] rather whether the B.C. Government’s failure to fund these services under the health plan amounted to an unequal and discriminatory denial of benefits under that plan, contrary to s. 15 of the Charter.” The petitioners, however, failed to establish that the denial of benefits violated the Charter. While the government must provide services authorized by law in a non-discriminatory manner, discrimination was not established because the benefit claimed, funding for all medically required services, was not provided by law, nor had the government excluded autistic children on the basis of disability.