By Canadian Press

Group files complaint to B.C. Human Rights Tribunal to remove drug clinic access fees

Feb 27, 2025 | 5:22 PM

VANCOUVER — A complaint has been filed with British Columbia’s Human Right Tribunal over clinic fees paid by some of those who get opioid treatments.

Vancouver lawyer Jason Gratl says his clients, Garth Mullins and the B.C. Association for People on Opioid Maintenance, have filed the complaint on behalf of those “who paid out-of-pocket private clinic access fees” for opioid agonist treatments.

Gratl says the current system requires patients to pay private clinic access fees ranging from $60 to $100 per month in order to receive advice or prescriptions from a practitioner who’s enrolled in the Medical Services Plan.

He says in a release that the model “targets” drug users “on the basis of discriminatory attitudes and stereotypes” and violates provincial law that expressly prohibits the fees where publicly funded health services are provided.

The complaint calls for an end to the current access fee model and for the province to pay those fees under the public health-care system.

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Gratl says his clients also want the province to reimburse the fees already paid by members of the class covered in the complaint.

“This funding model impedes access to medical treatment for persons seeking to control and stabilize their substance use disorders,” Gratl says in the release.

“Requiring patients to pay out-of-pocket clinic fee(s) discriminates against persons with substance use disorder(s) who attempt to seek medical treatment.”

The B.C. Health Ministry did not immediately provide a response to a request for comment.

The complaint dated Feb. 25 says Mullins, a Vancouver-based podcast host and activist, is the director of the association and a “person receiving opioid maintenance treatment.”

“(Opioid agonist treatment) is a medical treatment necessary to treat a medical condition and disability,” the complaint says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2025.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press