Hospital takes CAS to court

The McMaster Children’s Hospital has taken the Children’s Aid Society to court for not apprehending a young aboriginal girl who is no longer seeking leukemia treatment.

The case is protected by a publication ban so we cannot give the details of what has been said in court, but it involves conflicting beliefs. There is McMaster hospital who says they are trying to do what best for a child, and there are First Nations people who are complaining that action by CAS would be taking the child from their control. In the middle, is a young girl with a life-limiting illness.

Outside court in Brantford, the question of which belief do you subscribe to. The family of a young patient from Six Nations who is suffering from leukemia told staff at McMaster Children’s Hospital that they no longer wanted their treatment. The hospital called Children’s Aid, because of this belief.

Dr. Peter Fitzgerald is the President of McMaster Children’s Hospital: “Without this treatment the patient has no chance for survival. We have a legal and moral obligation to report to the CAS if we feel that a child is at risk.”

Last spring there was a similar case involving 11-year old Makayla Sault. Sault is from New Credit First Nation and put up a YouTube video where she explained why she no longer wanted to undergo chemotherapy to treat her leukemia. The hospital says the parents decision is at odds with the Healthcare Consent Act which dictates the role of a parent in these types of cases.

Andrea Frolic is the Director of Organizational Ethics: “The role of a parent is to make decisions in the best interest of a child. Not to make decisions based on what they want or what they think is best.

So while the staff at McMaster Children’s Hospital says that the child’s best interests are at the centre of their decision making, certain members of the Six Nations community say that involving the CAS is anything but.

Brandi Martin, Six Nations: “We can see that this is a very harmful action, an unnecessary action, and it is really in the hands of a judge off of our territory a non-native judge, and I believe it is time that we stop.”

It was the decision of the CAS not to step in both times, but in this case, McMaster chose to go further, taking CAS to court in the hopes of forcing action.

This was the 3rd day of testimony. A judge is expected to render a decision soon.