Final submissions in native rights case

It has been six weeks since the family of an 11-year old aboriginal girl with leukemia told doctors at McMaster that they were stopping chemotherapy in favour of traditional medicine. Thursday, a judge was hearing final submissions in the court case by the hospital who are hoping to force treatment.

As part of her closing argument, the lawyer for McMaster Children’s Hospital was pointing to what she said this case lacked — a lack of action by the Children’s Aid Society and a lack of evidence in favour of traditional medicine.

Speaking for Mac, Daphne Jarvis said she would have expected some evidence to the efficacy of traditional medicine at this hearing, but there was none. Doctors who treated this girl testified to a 95% cure rate with chemotherapy and they have no evidence of a child surviving leukemia without chemo. And that in a similar case, believed to be Makayla Sault who also stopped chemo, the patient has relapsed. Also that the CAS did not communicate with Doctor’s Vicky Breaky on the left and Stacy Marjerisson in the centre before deciding not to intervene. Afterwards, Mark Handlemen, the lawyer representing the CAS, was asked about the perceived lack of communication.

Mark Handleman, CAS lawyer: “That she was not directly respondng to her superiors and senior people at Children’s Aid. So if there’s a communications issue, I don’t know where the blame, if there is blame lies. But at the end of the day, I think it’s important to remember that everybody is concerned about the best interests of this child. And the right decision for this child. There are just competing views on what that decision should be.”

Handleman will make his remarks next Wednesday when court reconvenes. As for the patient, she is currently in Florida seeking traditional treatment. There’s no word yet on when the decision will be rendered.