Statement on Supreme Court of Nova Scotia Decision

NOTE: The following is a statement from Premier Tim Houston about the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia decision released this morning, November 1.

On behalf of the Province of Nova Scotia, I extend an unconditional and heartfelt apology to Ms. Brady and Ms. Ellingsen. They should not have been treated as they were. No Nova Scotian should be treated in such a way.

I accept Justice Gabriel’s decision. We will not be appealing.

The decision directed the parties to work together; we will most certainly do that. We understand there are additional steps needed to rectify the considerable gap for people with lymphedema in this province, and I look forward to working to address them.

The Department of Health and Wellness will pay both Ms. Brady and Ms. Ellingsen all the expenses they incurred for travel, treatment and unnecessary legal costs, including interest on those costs. In addition, the Province will fund the further treatment that has been identified as necessary to manage Ms. Brady’s ongoing medical condition path.

I have written to the Auditor General requesting she do a thorough review of the manner in which the Department of Health and Wellness handles such applications and requests and the circumstances that led Ms. Brady and Ms. Ellingsen to launch this case. In addition, I have asked that she also commission a review of the entire out-of-province/out-of-country approval process to ensure that it meets the goals of being human-centred while ensuring we are being sufficiently and humanely rigorous about the evidence required to ensure the prudent use of public resources for medically required services.

I have directed the Department to undertake a review of all similar files to ensure no other Nova Scotian has to endure the pain, frustration and delay Ms. Brady and Ms. Ellingsen did.

I hope these actions will, in some small measure, ease the way ahead for Ms. Ellingsen and Ms. Brady and ensure no other Nova Scotian will have a similar experience.