Cambie Surgeries Corporation v. British Columbia (Medical Services Commission)

Cambie Surgeries Corporation v. British Columbia (Medical Services Commission)

The court held plaintiffs did not establish that obtaining or executing the warrant to complete targeted audits of selected non‑party physicians amounted to an abuse of process or met the irreparable harm threshold for an injunction; the audits had independent origins predating the litigation admissions. However, because of concerns about intermingling litigation‑derived information with enforcement in light of the defendants' disclosure delay and trial adjournment, the court exercised its inherent jurisdiction to grant a situational interim stay: it enjoined enforcement of ss.14,17,18 and 45 MPA as applied to the applicant clinics and their physicians until June 6, 2016, but permitted...

Citation
2015 BCSC 2169
Parties
Plaintiff/applicant: Cambie Surgeries Corporation; Plaintiff/applicant: Specialist Referral Clinic (Vancouver) Inc.; Plaintiff/applicant: Chris Chiavatti by his litigation guardian Rita Chiavatti; Defendant/respondent: Medical Services Commission of British Columbia; Defendant/respondent: Minister of Health Services of British Columbia; Defendant/respondent: Attorney General of British Columbia; Intervenor: Intervenors (Dr. Duncan Etches; Dr. Robert Woolard; Glyn Townson; Thomas McGregor; British Columbia Friends of Medicare Society; Canadian Doctors for Medicare; Mariel Schooff; Daphne Lang; Joyce Hamer; Myrna Allison; Carol Welch; British Columbia Anesthesiologists' Society)
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
25 November 2015
Procedural Posture
Constitutional Challenge to Provincial Health Legislation (charter Ss.7 and 15) / Interlocutory Applications (stay/injunction and Challenge to Warrant) Pre Trial
Outcome
Interim stay partially granted and partially denied; warrant execution permitted for completion of Targeted Audits but enforcement against applicant clinics restrained; stay of defendants' application to strike denied.
Legal Topics
Charter S.7, Charter S.15, Abuse of Process, Interlocutory Injunction (rjr‑mac Donald), Implied Undertaking, Warrant and Audit Under Medicare Protection Act S.36, Canada Health Act Compliance
Source Language
English
Constitutional Law Administrative Law Health Law Civil Procedure Charter S.7 Charter S.15 Abuse of Process Interlocutory Injunction (rjr‑mac Donald) +3 more

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Parties

Cambie Surgeries Corporation

Plaintiff/applicant

Specialist Referral Clinic (Vancouver) Inc.

Plaintiff/applicant

Chris Chiavatti by his litigation guardian Rita Chiavatti

Plaintiff/applicant

Medical Services Commission of British Columbia

Defendant/respondent

Minister of Health Services of British Columbia

Defendant/respondent

Attorney General of British Columbia

Defendant/respondent

Intervenors (Dr. Duncan Etches; Dr. Robert Woolard; Glyn Townson; Thomas McGregor; British Columbia Friends of Medicare Society; Canadian Doctors for Medicare; Mariel Schooff; Daphne Lang; Joyce Hamer; Myrna Allison; Carol Welch; British Columbia Anesthesiologists' Society)

Intervenor

Procedural Posture

Constitutional Challenge to Provincial Health Legislation (charter Ss.7 and 15) / Interlocutory Applications (stay/injunction and Challenge to Warrant) Pre Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether execution of a warrant and continuation of audits during pending constitutional litigation constituted an abuse of process
  2. 2 Whether an interlocutory stay or injunction should bar enforcement of MPA provisions against the applicant clinics pending trial
  3. 3 Whether information or admissions obtained in the litigation were improperly used to guide enforcement (application of the implied undertaking)

Ratio Decidendi

The court held plaintiffs did not establish that obtaining or executing the warrant to complete targeted audits of selected non‑party physicians amounted to an abuse of process or met the irreparable harm threshold for an injunction; the audits had independent origins predating the litigation admissions. However, because of concerns about intermingling litigation‑derived information with enforcement in light of the defendants' disclosure delay and trial adjournment, the court exercised its inherent jurisdiction to grant a situational interim stay: it enjoined enforcement of ss.14,17,18 and 45 MPA as applied to the applicant clinics and their physicians until June 6, 2016, but permitted...

Court Disposition

Interim stay partially granted and partially denied; warrant execution permitted for completion of Targeted Audits but enforcement against applicant clinics restrained; stay of defendants' application to strike denied.

Orders

  • Interim stay of the operation and enforcement of sections 14, 17, 18 and 45 of the Medicare Protection Act as those provisions apply to applicants Cambie Surgeries Corporation and Specialist Referral Clinic (Vancouver) Inc. and physicians providing services through those clinics until June 6, 2016, subject to...
  • Execution of the Provincial Court warrant dated September 21, 2015 may proceed insofar as necessary to complete the Targeted Audits of the Selected Physicians