Canadian Supreme Court suspends Quebec private health care ruling for one year News
Canadian Supreme Court suspends Quebec private health care ruling for one year

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Canada [official website] on Thursday granted a one-year stay of its June ruling [JURIST report] that the Quebec government can't block people from obtaining private insurance for health care procedures covered under the public system. In its June 9 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that unreasonably long waiting times for procedures under Canada's Medicare program [Wikipedia backgrounder] violated the Quebec Charter of Rights [text] by not providing access to health care in a timely manner. The government in Quebec had asked for an 18-month delay [JURIST report] to plan for a new two-tiered health care system and the court seemed to agree that a private system could compromise funding for the public system. Thursday's ruling is retroactive to when the court issued its judgement. CBC news has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism

November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism [UNITED factsheet]. On November 9, 1924, American gay activist Henry Gerber and several associates formed the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society received a charter from the State of Illinois in December but was disbanded in July 1925 after a police raid which led to Gerber's arrest and trial (albeit not conviction). Pay a virtual visit to Henry Gerber House, now a registered Chicago landmark.

Supreme Court strikes down Massachusetts anti-draft law

On November 9, 1970, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Massachusetts v. Laird not to hear the case of the state's anti-draft law. Massachusetts had passed a law, which allowed its citizens to decline to fight in any undeclared war, even if the person was drafted. The law was passed in opposition to the draft and the war in Vietnam. The First Circuit found the war constitutional and thus struck down the law.