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OTTAWAThe Supreme Court of Canada has delayed implementation of its decision to overturn Quebec's ban on private health insurance for one year.
In a June 8 decision, the court ruled in Chaoulli vs. Quebec (Attorney General) that Quebec's ban on private insurance for health care services that are already provided by the province is unconstitutional.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a statement saying it would grant the government's request for a stay of its decision.
The judges granted the rare stay because the attorney general of Quebec successfully argued that the government needs time to comply with the court's ruling, a spokeswoman for the Supreme Court said.
While the decision technically applied only to Quebec, five provincesAlberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Prince Edward Islandhave similar bans on private insurance, and all Canadian provinces have restrictions on the ability of providers and clinics to collect payments directly from patients or third parties if they receive government funds.