In Defence of Mr. Clayton -Hostage Taker
Genius
Man enters a building with a rifle and holds nine people hostage. The fact
he did it is indisputable. The reasons why are. Was Mr. Clayton doing what
he normally would have done in any circumstance, or was he driven to seek
justice on his own because there was absolutely no help for him in society?
If the former, then Mr. Clayton is definitely guilty and should bear the
brunt of whatever sentence he gets.
If the latter, then we, as Canadians, lawyers, medical personnel, WCB
employees, news media, government, friends, and family, are all to blame.
It is my contention that is we who are to blame.
To prove my argument I have to point you first to the Canada Health Act in
place in Canada. This Act removes the medical rights from a created class of
people named "Injured Workers". These people are specifically excluded from
the Canada Health Act. In other words the patient is not allowed to have a
say in His/her own rehabilitation. It is completely up to the WCB's in
Canada to approve or deny health care. This automatically disadvantages a
patient, especially when the government run insurance company denies there
is even a medical problem with the patient. A patient not receiving proper
and timely treatment because of these appeals often becomes sicker both
physically and emotionally.
My next stop is the WCB's Acts. These Acts remove the legal rights from a
patient. This leaves them defenceless and the patient has to go through a
series of frivolous and vexatious appeals before they even begin to get
well. Because there is obvious fraud in a case committed by the WCB's, and
because the patient is fully aware a fraud is being committed against
Him/her, it frustrates and angers the patient. Normally in a fair and just
society as soon as fraud is detected the victim would be able to seek legal
help and remedy. Not so with injured workers because of the clause in the
WCB Act removing this right.
So now we have a medical patient being denied proper and timely medical
care, and an adversarial Board delaying other remedies that would enable the
patient to get well and back to work. The patient is trapped in the WCB
system with no way out because his/her legal remedies have been taken.
Surely this must be a source of great frustration and dismay to any normal
person.
There is another component to this scenario that most people do not
understand. That is the social stigma of being off work and on welfare. The
patient is constantly forced to rely on friends and families for support and
also forced to avail of other government programs that will at least provide
food and shelter. While fighting the WCB's to get fair compensation the
patient is subjected to every manner of stress from bill collectors, banks,
and friends and family who reject the patient because they are always
financially needy. The patient soon enough finds themselves alone in this
battle with no one to turn too.
We now have a sick medical patient that is most often in some degree of
pain, who is also being denied proper and timely health care, who is also
denied proper legal representation, who is also becoming impoverished more
and more each day, and each day becomes a torment to Him/her. A living Hell
on Earth.
All any injured worker wants to do is get well and return to work so He/she
can enjoy the fruits of their labour and be independent in society. Able to
make their own decisions and pursue their hopes and dreams. This is
impossible once caught up in the WCB system.
All disability is based on clear and irrefutable medical evidence. There can
be no doubt Mr. Clayton's knee injury and subsequent disability would
preclude him from ever returning to his carpenter trade.
So why is WCB in Alberta denying this and forcing him to appeal? Why aren't
they immediately providing therapy and retraining, or a pension that
approximates his lost earnings, or a combination of both, so Mr. Clayton can
return to function and independence? That is a monster of a question and
must be addressed. It is the reason Mr. Clayton finds himself in front of
the Court's today.
It is also the reason many others in the past have found themselves in
court. I contend it is the reason even more have been driven to their grave.
No one in Canadian society can function normally when the most important
rights they have are taken from them and given to an insurance company. Any
insurance company. We open the door to all manner of abuse and fraud against
the patient when we do this. And these laws that remove the rights of an
individual is taken advantage of by the WCB's in Canada. All of them.
Instead of being the social program that enables injured workers to get well
and back to function in society, we have a Board that uses every illegal and
dirty trick in the book to deny claims. This is the direct cause of
outbursts such as Mr. Clayton's. The patient not only is physically damaged,
they now become emotionally damaged and mentally unstable. Through no fault
of their own but rather because we have abandoned them to misery.
We subject the patient to untreated pain, poverty, and stress. Any one of
these factors can kill a person or make them unstable and we inflict all
three at once.
If anyone should be ashamed of themselves it is the court's and government
for not seeing how the removal of rights is a discriminatory act that leaves
a person defenceless, impoverishes them, and subjects them to medical abuse.
It is also the fault of a society who has a duty to report any sort of
discrimination that harms our friends, families, and neighbours.
In my opinion Mr. Clayton was discriminated against, denied services, and
this is what ultimately drove him over the edge. It happens every day in
Canada, in every Province.
I am sure the victims of the hostage taking will get proper counselling to
help them deal with the emotional effects of their ordeal. Who will provide
the counselling for Mr. Clayton who has been robbed and cheated and
mistreated and put through an ordeal for years with absolutely no relief?
I beg the court's to have mercy on Mr. Clayton and ask them to realize he is
just another victim and suffered great injustice that led to his poor
judgment and criminal activity. The man was traumatized, impoverished, in
pain, unable to work, and was losing all he held dear. His act was one of
despair and desperation because we failed him as a society. Have mercy
please.
Frederick Palmer
Founder - V.O.C.A.L.
(Victims Of Compensation Abuse League)