Today was the official resumption of the Cambie Corp. vs BC Charter Challenge at B.C. Supreme Court. The day began with a Judicial Management Meeting to talk about trial administrative and scheduling issues. The primary discussion at this meeting was the announcement by the BC Government this past week about enacting enforcement legislation about extra-billing (see announcement here).

The Plaintiffs will figure out if this new legislation means they have to re-submit their original claim because the legislation that is at the heart of this constitutional challenge, Sections 17 and 18 of the Medicare Protection Act, are the sections that have been updated by the BC government's announcement. The Defendants stated that since the change was mostly clarification of the Sections 17 and 18, that there would need to be little that needed to be changed as part of the constitutional claim.

In addition, the Plaintiffs are considering whether they should apply for an injunction against the legislation, asking the Court to delay when it will come into force (now, the legislation will come into force on October 1, 2018), until after a decision has been made on the trial.

In the meantime, the trial will continue as planned, with three weeks on and one week off. This week the court will hear various applications, with witnesses from Plaintiffs taking the stand again starting Friday. If the Plaintiffs bring forward an application for an injunction, the Judge will decide on scheduling then.