Forwarded to Senators Michael Kirby, Marjorie Lebreton, Catherine Callbeck, Joan Cook, Jane Cordy, Joyce Fairbairn, Wilburt Keon, Lucie Pépin, Brenda Robertson, and Douglas Roche

Senate of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A4

Dear Senator:

It is with absolute shock that I have found that you are involved in a process that could adversely affect the Medicare system in Canada. It is with disappointment that I have read that ten senators are using their position in an attempt to have the Supreme Court of Canada grant an appeal on behalf of Dr. Jacque Chaoulli and his patient George Zeliotis. Regardless of the fact that the Supreme Court of Canada granted intervenor status to you on the basis of an individual Canadian, it is impossible to separate your status as a Senator and the weight that office carries from your status as an individual. I know this reality is not a surprise to you which makes your intervention in this Supreme Court case all the more abhorrent.

Certainly you must remember how the Medicare system helped you and your family throughout your entire life, and now at this point, when you are in a position to fix the Medicare system, you are looking to dismantle it, and allow profit to be made at the expense of Canadians.

This is truly a shameful act and it is with entire disbelief that you as a senator are acting in a totally different role than what a senator’s role should be. Not only have you compromised the position of a senator but you are compromising your integrity, and as such I am demanding that you resign your position as senator immediately or totally withdraw from this matter and provide public apology to the people of this country. You are promoting your own selfish interests and the selfish interests of private companies, and not protecting the health care system for the people of Canada.

It is without doubt that the vast majority of Canadians support a publicly owned single tier level of health care and it is your duty as senator to support Canadian views and interests. It is not your duty to support the interests of private companies who make a profit at the expense of Canadians and their health care system.

Sincerely,

Phil Flemming
International Vice President

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, CLC

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