618 Alberta Hansard April 14, 2009
Delisting of Medical Services
Ms Notley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The health minister wants to cut gender reassignment surgery and chiropractic care from public health care. He seems to think that he can create a political precedent for delisting by going after people and services that are most vulnerable; for instance, where there is a high level of public misunderstanding, as with gender reassignment surgery. To the minister of health. You’ve already admitted it in the media. Why won’t you admit here today that these cuts are just one more step towards dismantling the public health system and bringing more U.S. private health care to Alberta?
Mr. Liepert: Well, Mr. Speaker, I remember that before the Easter break the leader of the third party talked about – I believe his quote was “a dishonest budget.” We’ve heard two questions today from these two sitting in the corner, and both of them have been dishonest questions.
Ms Notley: Mr. Speaker, I don’t know what he’s talking about, but
maybe he could raise it sometime. A 2004 government study concluded that doctors should recommend spinal manipulation to their low-back patients as part of their medical care; in short, a medically necessary treatment. The AMA says that gender reassignment surgery is an effective treatment for people who suffer from gender identity disorder; in short, a medically necessary treatment. To the minister: why won’t you protect our public health system instead of coming up with more and more ways to sell it off to your friends in the insurance industry?
Mr. Liepert: Mr. Speaker, if our publicly funded health care system isn’t sustainable in the future, we won’t have one. We’ll have exactly what these two keep talking about, and that is private-sector health care. This government is the one that is preserving our publicly funded health care system, not the status quo.
Ms Notley: Mr. Speaker, this government gives more than $700,000 to their high-paid staff in one year than they give to these people that need this treatment. The fundamental health of many transgendered Albertans hinges on gender reassignment surgery, and by denying that, this government could be complicit in raising their risk of depression and suicide. Delisting the surgery trims a tiny fraction from the health budget but slashes at the very foundation of human rights. To the minister: isn’t it enough that you’re already ripping apart our public health system? Why are you trampling on people’s human rights while you’re at it?
View the question period and the full transcript at the following link at 51 minutes – 16 seconds (51:16)
http://media.assembly.ab.ca/ArchiveVideo/200904141325_Video.asf
Showing posts with label Ron Liepert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ron Liepert. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Province retreats on sex changes
Edmonton Sun, Canada
Wed, April 15, 2009
Province retreats on sex changes
By KERRY DIOTTE, LEGISLATURE BUREAU CHIEF
The province is bending a bit on cancelling gender-bender surgery.
Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert said yesterday the province won't
snip sex-change operations out of this year's budget to save $700,000
as previously announced.
Liepert announced that in question period as more than two dozen
transsexuals and their supporters watched from the public gallery.
The minister told the House 26 Albertans are now "in the program" and
their surgery will be covered.
A further 20 people who hadn't been scheduled for surgery but were on
a waiting list for funding will now also be paid for, but the
procedure won't be funded next fiscal year, he indicated.
Health ministry spokesman John Tuckwell says that means the government
will have to come up with extra cash in the soon-to-be-passed 2009-10
budget to pay for the sex-change operations that can cost between
$18,000 and $70,000 and are performed in Montreal.
Opposition MLAs accused the government of trying to save money by
picking on a small minority group that's been told by physicians their
surgery is medically necessary. But Liepert said his ministry had to
make tough choices.
TOUGH DECISIONS
"This was not based on medical decisions," said Liepert. "This was
based on a number of programs we had to make ... There were some very
tough decisions that had to be made, everything from cancelling some
programs around youth suicide prevention to programs around certain
surgeries."
Edmonton Centre Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman argued the province will
likely waste more cash than it will save by chopping the sex-change
procedure from next year's budget because government lawyers will have
to defend human rights challenges.
Click here to find out more!
Transsexuals have vowed to file numerous complaints as early as today
to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission.
HUMAN RIGHTS
A human rights challenge in Ontario saw that province forced to
reinstate coverage of sex-change operations.
Edmonton-Strathcona NDP MLA Rachel Notley says Alberta will come off
as looking like rednecks nationally because it cancelled funding for
sex changes to save a small amount of money. That's exactly the
opposite of a recent rebranding program that boasts that Alberta is
open and tolerant, she said.
"This is an attack on the most vulnerable," Notley told Sun Media.
Because of the government's decision, "we will continue to look like a
backward group of folks to the rest of the country ... That's not how
Albertans are."
Premier Ed Stelmach said it was "fair and reasonable," that Liepert
extend the sex-change operation program for one year.
Axcella Zelensky said she already had her publicly funded operation in
January but was at the legislature to fight to see others continue to
have access to publicly funded sex changes.
"I was actually planning in the next little while to send a thank-you
card to the government, but I'm not sure whether I can anymore," she
told Sun Media.
Surgeries are a necessity, she said. "We never chose to be born into
the wrong body."
KERRY.DIOTTE@SUNMEDIA.CA
Copyright € ¦© 2009, Canoe Inc. All rights reserved
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2009/04/15/9116406-sun.html
Wed, April 15, 2009
Province retreats on sex changes
By KERRY DIOTTE, LEGISLATURE BUREAU CHIEF
The province is bending a bit on cancelling gender-bender surgery.
Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert said yesterday the province won't
snip sex-change operations out of this year's budget to save $700,000
as previously announced.
Liepert announced that in question period as more than two dozen
transsexuals and their supporters watched from the public gallery.
The minister told the House 26 Albertans are now "in the program" and
their surgery will be covered.
A further 20 people who hadn't been scheduled for surgery but were on
a waiting list for funding will now also be paid for, but the
procedure won't be funded next fiscal year, he indicated.
Health ministry spokesman John Tuckwell says that means the government
will have to come up with extra cash in the soon-to-be-passed 2009-10
budget to pay for the sex-change operations that can cost between
$18,000 and $70,000 and are performed in Montreal.
Opposition MLAs accused the government of trying to save money by
picking on a small minority group that's been told by physicians their
surgery is medically necessary. But Liepert said his ministry had to
make tough choices.
TOUGH DECISIONS
"This was not based on medical decisions," said Liepert. "This was
based on a number of programs we had to make ... There were some very
tough decisions that had to be made, everything from cancelling some
programs around youth suicide prevention to programs around certain
surgeries."
Edmonton Centre Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman argued the province will
likely waste more cash than it will save by chopping the sex-change
procedure from next year's budget because government lawyers will have
to defend human rights challenges.
Click here to find out more!
Transsexuals have vowed to file numerous complaints as early as today
to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission.
HUMAN RIGHTS
A human rights challenge in Ontario saw that province forced to
reinstate coverage of sex-change operations.
Edmonton-Strathcona NDP MLA Rachel Notley says Alberta will come off
as looking like rednecks nationally because it cancelled funding for
sex changes to save a small amount of money. That's exactly the
opposite of a recent rebranding program that boasts that Alberta is
open and tolerant, she said.
"This is an attack on the most vulnerable," Notley told Sun Media.
Because of the government's decision, "we will continue to look like a
backward group of folks to the rest of the country ... That's not how
Albertans are."
Premier Ed Stelmach said it was "fair and reasonable," that Liepert
extend the sex-change operation program for one year.
Axcella Zelensky said she already had her publicly funded operation in
January but was at the legislature to fight to see others continue to
have access to publicly funded sex changes.
"I was actually planning in the next little while to send a thank-you
card to the government, but I'm not sure whether I can anymore," she
told Sun Media.
Surgeries are a necessity, she said. "We never chose to be born into
the wrong body."
KERRY.DIOTTE@SUNMEDIA.CA
Copyright € ¦© 2009, Canoe Inc. All rights reserved
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2009/04/15/9116406-sun.html
Alberta government facing human rights complaint over sex change funding
Prince George Citizen, Canada
Alberta government facing human rights complaint over sex change funding
Written by Jim Macdonald, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
EDMONTON - A battle in Alberta over funding for sex change operations
took a new twist Tuesday with a surprise announcement that the
province will fund 48 of the surgeries before cutting off government
funding.
Health Minister Ron Liepert caught about a dozen transsexual
protesters off guard when he announced that he didn't think it was
fair to strand people who had been preparing for years to have a sex
change.
So 28 people who are in varying stages of the sex change procedure
will get funding to finish their surgeries, while 20 others who have
been paying for hormone treatments in advance of the surgery will also
get government funding, said Liepert.
"It would not be right for us to say, 'Well, you spent all this money,
but we're now going to change the rules,"' the minister later told
reporters.
Jamie-Lynn Garvin, 47, who has been involved in the sex change process
for more than three years, was shocked by the minister's announcement.
"It's a $40,000 announcement for me," said Garvin. "But I've heard a
lot of things come out of politicians' mouths and I don't know if this
is true or not."
But Liepert's motives were being interpreted in a very different light
by a group preparing to file a human rights complaint Wednesday in
hopes of blocking the decision in the recent Alberta budget to end
funding for sex changes.
Jordenne Prescott said the Ontario government's 1998 decision to
eliminate funding for sex changes was overturned by the province's
human rights commission.
They were hoping to use this as a precedent in the Alberta human
rights case. But a key factor in the Ontario ruling was the fact that
people who had been preparing for a sex change were left stranded.
Liepert has now "grandfathered" most Albertans waiting for sex change
procedures, so those behind the Alberta human rights complaint may no
longer be able to use the Ontario ruling as a precedent.
"Essentially, it was a very smart move on his part," said Prescott,
who is among those waiting for a sex change. "It does not gut the
complaint entirely, though."
Kristopher Wells, a researcher with the Institute for Sexual
Minorities Studies and Services at the University of Alberta, said the
complaint will now argue that Alberta's funding cut is simply
discriminatory.
"People in the community may also seek a civil injunction against the
government until the courts rule whether this was a discriminatory
action or not," said Wells.
There has also been talk in Alberta's transgendered community of a
class-action lawsuit claiming damages for the lost government funding,
he said.
Liepert explained that he decided to approve additional sex-change
funding after hearing media reports about the impact the cut would
have on people who have spent years preparing for the procedure.
"That decision seemed to be the right one to make and I made it today," he said.
But the minister could not say how much these additional surgeries
would cost, but the price of a sex change usually ranges from $17,000
to $70,000.
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20090414186735/wire/national-news/alberta-government-facing-human-rights-complaint-over-sex-change-funding.html
Alberta government facing human rights complaint over sex change funding
Written by Jim Macdonald, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
EDMONTON - A battle in Alberta over funding for sex change operations
took a new twist Tuesday with a surprise announcement that the
province will fund 48 of the surgeries before cutting off government
funding.
Health Minister Ron Liepert caught about a dozen transsexual
protesters off guard when he announced that he didn't think it was
fair to strand people who had been preparing for years to have a sex
change.
So 28 people who are in varying stages of the sex change procedure
will get funding to finish their surgeries, while 20 others who have
been paying for hormone treatments in advance of the surgery will also
get government funding, said Liepert.
"It would not be right for us to say, 'Well, you spent all this money,
but we're now going to change the rules,"' the minister later told
reporters.
Jamie-Lynn Garvin, 47, who has been involved in the sex change process
for more than three years, was shocked by the minister's announcement.
"It's a $40,000 announcement for me," said Garvin. "But I've heard a
lot of things come out of politicians' mouths and I don't know if this
is true or not."
But Liepert's motives were being interpreted in a very different light
by a group preparing to file a human rights complaint Wednesday in
hopes of blocking the decision in the recent Alberta budget to end
funding for sex changes.
Jordenne Prescott said the Ontario government's 1998 decision to
eliminate funding for sex changes was overturned by the province's
human rights commission.
They were hoping to use this as a precedent in the Alberta human
rights case. But a key factor in the Ontario ruling was the fact that
people who had been preparing for a sex change were left stranded.
Liepert has now "grandfathered" most Albertans waiting for sex change
procedures, so those behind the Alberta human rights complaint may no
longer be able to use the Ontario ruling as a precedent.
"Essentially, it was a very smart move on his part," said Prescott,
who is among those waiting for a sex change. "It does not gut the
complaint entirely, though."
Kristopher Wells, a researcher with the Institute for Sexual
Minorities Studies and Services at the University of Alberta, said the
complaint will now argue that Alberta's funding cut is simply
discriminatory.
"People in the community may also seek a civil injunction against the
government until the courts rule whether this was a discriminatory
action or not," said Wells.
There has also been talk in Alberta's transgendered community of a
class-action lawsuit claiming damages for the lost government funding,
he said.
Liepert explained that he decided to approve additional sex-change
funding after hearing media reports about the impact the cut would
have on people who have spent years preparing for the procedure.
"That decision seemed to be the right one to make and I made it today," he said.
But the minister could not say how much these additional surgeries
would cost, but the price of a sex change usually ranges from $17,000
to $70,000.
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20090414186735/wire/national-news/alberta-government-facing-human-rights-complaint-over-sex-change-funding.html
Cutting sex-change coverage necessary, says Alberta health minister
Edmonton Journal, Canada
Cutting sex-change coverage necessary, says Alberta health minister
By Trish Audette, edmontonjournal.com
April 14, 2009 3:04 PM
EDMONTON — Health Minister Ron Liepert wondered Tuesday whether
Alberta needs an expert panel to determine what is medically necessary
as his government continues to make "tough decisions" about what
should be covered by the province.
During Tuesday's question period, about three dozen people who support
the province's transgendered community — or who themselves are waiting
for gender reassignment surgery— sat in the legislature's public
gallery and listened to Liepert explain that the medical procedure is
not the only service being cut.
He confirmed the 26 Albertans currently in line to undergo gender
reassignment will have their surgeries covered by the province, and 20
more people on the verge of being approved will also be covered.
Beyond that, however, Liepert stuck to the province's plan to cut
$700,000 from health care spending by ending the coverage of gender
reassignment surgeries.
"Unless we get a handle on expenditures, we won't have a publicly
funded health care system," he said.
The transgendered community was blindsided by the province's decision
to cut the program last week. For individuals, the costs of gender
reassignment surgery can amount to as much as $80,000.
Liepert has said the decision was not political, but a matter of a
line-by-line analysis of spending.
The other major cut to public health care spending was $53 million,
saved by cutting funding to chiropractic services.
"Our interest, of course, is to be here as peaceful witnesses to this
issue," said Jan Lukas Buterman, who was among the people who met on
the legislature's front steps before question period.
On Wednesday, members of the transgendered community are expected to
file human rights complaints in Calgary and Edmonton.
taudette@thejournal.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Health/Cutting+change+coverage+necessary+Liepert/1495792/story.html
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Alberta Finance Minister: "I Didn't Know We Covered That"
Bilerico, USA
Alberta Finance Minister: "I Didn't Know We Covered That"
Filed by: Mercedes Allen
April 13, 2009 3:00 PM
When Finance Minister Iris Evans discussed the Province's decision to
delist Gender Reassignment Surgery
(GRS) on the day after the budget was handed down, she said, "I didn't
even know we covered that." Reportedly, there was a look of hate in
her eyes as she said it (I didn't see the report, but have heard this
from many in the trans community who did), offset by that bright
bubblegum pink power suit of hers.
Health Minister Ron Liepert has said that we were not targeted for
"moral" (as defined by conservative Christians) reasons. And yet in a
budget where spending was increased, and where the ministries
reportedly went through everything line-by-line with the notable
casualties in health funding being essentially chiropractic and GRS
coverage, even our detractors see through that statement. Also notable
was the fact that the cut was made without consulting with the
Province's lead GID specialist, in order to be aware of any negative
ramifications, learn of any concerns there might be about how it
affects our community -- he'd been left completely unaware of what was
to come.
The Conservatives later said that the combined total cut from
chiropractic and GRS coverage was being used to provide a facility
and/or services for seniors, a disadvantaged portion of our society
(that they also chose to cut drug benefits for). Now, I'm not the kind
of person who likes to argue who is most marginalized, and certainly
support programs for seniors (and strongly oppose their drug cuts),
but to make it sound like we're a privileged and affluent subset of
society that doesn't need medical care support is absurd.
Alberta has gone down this road before, when it chose to try to thwart
Delwin Vriend's case against the King's College, in the early 1990s.
This led to a 6-year action against the Province that went to the
Supreme Court of Canada, resulted in overwhelming embarrassment and
expense, and led to the ruling that established Human Rights
protections across the nation on the basis of sexual orientation.
Other provinces have also gone down this road specifically regarding
GRS: British Columbia had delisted it and later restored it due to
pressure, and last year Ontario too restored it on the heels of a
Human Rights ruling and in the face of more to come. In classic
fashion, the Conservatives are now saying they were unaware of the
Ontario history. Of course, we can never assume anything, but it
doesn't take a lot of effort to see that Albertans are being taken
down another bad path.
I have faith in Alberta. The people, that is -- not so much the
government. Albertans are business-minded and fiscally conservative,
which is why they've overwhelmingly voted in Conservative
representatives for decades. But many, especially in the larger
population centres, are socially progressive as well. I like to call
them the "closet moderates." Afraid of being tagged "liberal,"
"socialist" and all of that, they have tended to be pretty silent,
allowing the "redneck Little Texas" image to persist. But in the face
of a really bad choice like this, I hope, that they may spread the
word a little, and tell their MLAs that they really don't want this
fight. I'm an Albertan and a taxpayer as well, and I really don't want
this fight either -- but with something that is a medical necessity
and a matter of life and death for some, I can't not fight, either.
That is something that Albertans (and most of North American society)
don't understand, yet. GRS is not a cosmetic procedure. We don't wake
up one day and decide that it would be cool to alienate our family,
lose our spouses and children, get fired from our jobs, all so that we
can be thought of as strange by society. We do it because there is a
serious and present need, one which often requires GRS for closure.
The information is there for them if they'd like to develop a better
understanding of the real story. I hope enough are willing to listen.
In the meantime, people are not being silent. On Tuesday, as the
Provincial government sits down to debate the budget, a number of
people will be attending in silent but visible protest. There will
also be information to hand out about who we are and why GRS is a
medical necessity. On Wednesday, several of us in both Edmonton and
Calgary will be filing Human Rights complaints en masse.
There has long been this feeling that in doing advocacy work for
transsexuals was a risky business -- that if word went out about the
fact that the Province paid for GRS, the public outrage would have it
taken away in a second. Any attempt to organize needed to be sabotaged
or shouted down at all costs. The advocates were the enemy.
Consequently, when the delisting occurred last week (only a week after
controversy bubbled up regarding the Province's refusal to consider
trans inclusion in changes being made to the Human Rights Commission),
it caught us in a state of being satellite activists, working
independently, sometimes against each other, sometimes afraid that our
fights to achieve might in the end cost more than it was worth. People
walked on eggshells.
That is changing. Stay tuned.
Crossposted to The Bilerico Project and available to Pam's House Blend
Filed under: Health issues | International | Transgender & Intersex
Tags: alberto | canada | grs | health care | medical coverage |
surgery | transgender | transsexual
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/04/alberta_finance_minister_i_didnt_know_we.php
Alberta Finance Minister: "I Didn't Know We Covered That"
Filed by: Mercedes Allen
April 13, 2009 3:00 PM
When Finance Minister Iris Evans discussed the Province's decision to
delist Gender Reassignment Surgery
(GRS) on the day after the budget was handed down, she said, "I didn't
even know we covered that." Reportedly, there was a look of hate in
her eyes as she said it (I didn't see the report, but have heard this
from many in the trans community who did), offset by that bright
bubblegum pink power suit of hers.
Health Minister Ron Liepert has said that we were not targeted for
"moral" (as defined by conservative Christians) reasons. And yet in a
budget where spending was increased, and where the ministries
reportedly went through everything line-by-line with the notable
casualties in health funding being essentially chiropractic and GRS
coverage, even our detractors see through that statement. Also notable
was the fact that the cut was made without consulting with the
Province's lead GID specialist, in order to be aware of any negative
ramifications, learn of any concerns there might be about how it
affects our community -- he'd been left completely unaware of what was
to come.
The Conservatives later said that the combined total cut from
chiropractic and GRS coverage was being used to provide a facility
and/or services for seniors, a disadvantaged portion of our society
(that they also chose to cut drug benefits for). Now, I'm not the kind
of person who likes to argue who is most marginalized, and certainly
support programs for seniors (and strongly oppose their drug cuts),
but to make it sound like we're a privileged and affluent subset of
society that doesn't need medical care support is absurd.
Alberta has gone down this road before, when it chose to try to thwart
Delwin Vriend's case against the King's College, in the early 1990s.
This led to a 6-year action against the Province that went to the
Supreme Court of Canada, resulted in overwhelming embarrassment and
expense, and led to the ruling that established Human Rights
protections across the nation on the basis of sexual orientation.
Other provinces have also gone down this road specifically regarding
GRS: British Columbia had delisted it and later restored it due to
pressure, and last year Ontario too restored it on the heels of a
Human Rights ruling and in the face of more to come. In classic
fashion, the Conservatives are now saying they were unaware of the
Ontario history. Of course, we can never assume anything, but it
doesn't take a lot of effort to see that Albertans are being taken
down another bad path.
I have faith in Alberta. The people, that is -- not so much the
government. Albertans are business-minded and fiscally conservative,
which is why they've overwhelmingly voted in Conservative
representatives for decades. But many, especially in the larger
population centres, are socially progressive as well. I like to call
them the "closet moderates." Afraid of being tagged "liberal,"
"socialist" and all of that, they have tended to be pretty silent,
allowing the "redneck Little Texas" image to persist. But in the face
of a really bad choice like this, I hope, that they may spread the
word a little, and tell their MLAs that they really don't want this
fight. I'm an Albertan and a taxpayer as well, and I really don't want
this fight either -- but with something that is a medical necessity
and a matter of life and death for some, I can't not fight, either.
That is something that Albertans (and most of North American society)
don't understand, yet. GRS is not a cosmetic procedure. We don't wake
up one day and decide that it would be cool to alienate our family,
lose our spouses and children, get fired from our jobs, all so that we
can be thought of as strange by society. We do it because there is a
serious and present need, one which often requires GRS for closure.
The information is there for them if they'd like to develop a better
understanding of the real story. I hope enough are willing to listen.
In the meantime, people are not being silent. On Tuesday, as the
Provincial government sits down to debate the budget, a number of
people will be attending in silent but visible protest. There will
also be information to hand out about who we are and why GRS is a
medical necessity. On Wednesday, several of us in both Edmonton and
Calgary will be filing Human Rights complaints en masse.
There has long been this feeling that in doing advocacy work for
transsexuals was a risky business -- that if word went out about the
fact that the Province paid for GRS, the public outrage would have it
taken away in a second. Any attempt to organize needed to be sabotaged
or shouted down at all costs. The advocates were the enemy.
Consequently, when the delisting occurred last week (only a week after
controversy bubbled up regarding the Province's refusal to consider
trans inclusion in changes being made to the Human Rights Commission),
it caught us in a state of being satellite activists, working
independently, sometimes against each other, sometimes afraid that our
fights to achieve might in the end cost more than it was worth. People
walked on eggshells.
That is changing. Stay tuned.
Crossposted to The Bilerico Project and available to Pam's House Blend
Filed under: Health issues | International | Transgender & Intersex
Tags: alberto | canada | grs | health care | medical coverage |
surgery | transgender | transsexual
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/04/alberta_finance_minister_i_didnt_know_we.php
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