Torchlight

Gender Support Group

 Grits have ’chickened out’: Churley

Ontario’s Liberal government has "chickened out" of reinstating medicare coverage for sex change operations for fear of a public backlash, deputy NDP Marilyn Churley charged Thursday.

Churley accused the Liberals of backing off a pledge while in opposition to restore funding for the procedures, which left numerous patients in the lurch when they were delisted by the previous Conservative government in 1997.

"The promised they’d reverse that decision," but backed out amid a storm of controversy over the more heavily publicized - and criticized - move last May to delist chiropractic services, physiotherapy and eye exams, she said.

"They reneged on their promise because they were cowards."

- The Canadian Press
Published in "24 Hours" on Friday, 19 November 2004.