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Ontario AG seeks steps into case of First Nations girl who quit chemo

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A controversial decision involving a First Nations girl refusing chemotherapy may not be final just yet, as the ministers from the Ontario auditor general's office are still in talks discussing the best way to resolve the matter.

Provincial justice officials asked the parties involved to agree to extend the deadline for filing an appeal.

“I can confirm that the appeal period for the Hamilton Health Sciences matter has been extended by agreement to March 13. The family and the Government of Ontario are continuing to discuss the most respectful and effective ways to provide for this child’s health care,” Christine Burke, spokeswoman for the minister, said in an emailed statement.

“As the matter may be before the courts, and out of respect for the family’s privacy, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

J.J.’s case is dishearteningly similar to that of Makayla Sault, the 11-year-old from the New Credit First Nation who died of a stroke in January, after quitting chemotherapy in favour of traditional medicine.

The two cases have pitted aboriginal rights against child protection laws, and made international headlines.

J.J., whose name is under a publication ban, is a member of the Six Nations First Nation.

Six Nations Council declined comment Tuesday. The organization lauded the court decision in November.

“We have relied on and cared for our families with our medicines since time immemorial.  We know that they are effective,”

the council said in a statement at the time.

But no small part of the controversy stems from the fact that both girls’ alternative treatment included a stint at the Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida, an organization licensed only as a health spa and massage facility that is now under investigation by state health authorities. The institute offers a “comprehensive cancer wellness program” that includes biofeedback, “mindbody interventions,” and “nutritional protocols.”

Like Makayla, J.J. has acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She was diagnosed in mid-August and quickly began what was supposed to be a 32-day course of chemotherapy. Her mother withdrew consent after 12 days, saying they would pursue traditional aboriginal medicine.

J.J.’s oncologist reported the refusal of treatment to Brant Family and Children’s Services, which decided not to intervene.

McMaster Children’s Hospital then turned to the courts.

Justice Gethin Edward ruled in November that J.J.’s mother’s decision to pursue traditional medicine for her daughter was her aboriginal right.

“This is not an eleventh-hour epiphany employed to take her daughter out of the rigors of chemotherapy. Rather it is a decision made by a mother, on behalf of a daughter she truly loves, steeped in a practice that has been rooted in their culture from its beginnings,” Edward said in his written decision.

Six years ago, a Supreme Court of Canada upheld a Manitoba court decision forcing a blood transfusion on a 14-year-old Jehovah’s Witness girl who had refused the treatment on religious grounds.

Daphne Jarvis, the lawyer who represented the hospital, confirmed Tuesday the agreement on the deadline for appeal.

She said the ruling is unprecedented but is not binding on other courts. It’s an issue likely to be challenged in higher courts, in this or future cases.

“It is concerning that the Court has considered only the mother’s rights and not the child’s best interests,” Jarvis wrote in a bulletin to guide health care practitioners following the decision.

“It will be argued that even if the pursuit of traditional medicine is an aboriginal right recognized and affirmed by s. 35 of the Constitution, it is subject to reasonable limits such that it cannot be used to trump an incapable person’s right to life or the protections under the CFSA afforded to a child in need of treatment.”