Supreme Court of Canada denies leave to appeal in Fletcher case

The Supreme Court of Canada has denied a Manitoba MPs leave to appeal a decision that denied him the right to claim accident benefits under section 138 of the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act.

The Supreme Court does not offer reasons for denying leave applications.

Section 138 of the act carries no maximum limit for personal home assistance.

Steven Fletcher, a Manitoba MP, was paralyzed from the neck down in a 1996 motor vehicle accident.

Despite his catastrophic injuries, he went on to become a Member of Parliament and was appointed Minister of State for Democratic Reform in Oct. 2008.

Fletcher received benefits for his ongoing care and rehabilitation from MPI under section 31 of Manitoba’s insurance act, which has a Cdn$3,000 threshold per month relating to personal home assistance.

He argued that his requests for reimbursement should fall under s. 138 of the act, because the expenses are essential to his functioning as a human being and therefore, much more extensive in scope.

These expenses include the purchase or adaptation of motor vehicles, homes and wheelchairs in both Winnipeg and Ottawa.

Manitoba’s Court of Appeal had ruled that section 138, despite its broad wording, cannot be used as a top-up or add-on for an expense that falls within “the four corners of section 131.”

While the Court of Appeal acknowledged that the $3,000 threshold was “wholly inadequate to provide the essential level of personal assistance for the victim… who decides to make something of his life,” it is nevertheless a matter for the legislature to decide, not the courts.