Mr. Culbert, who travelled to Saskatchewan along with the clinic's medical director to address the fundraisers this past weekend, said the hospital has seen a marked increase in inquiries from Canadians and business since its involvement in Tyrell's case became front-page news in Canada and around the world. But the extra money the private medical venture has garnered from the publicity is beside the point, he said. I have stressed everywhere in Canada that there is no reason on Earth that anyone else should have to travel here to come to our clinic . . . None of these people should have to contemplate going down to a foreign country to save their lives. For Joseph Bourgault, the volunteer chair of the Tyrell Dueck Cancer Recovery Fund, the story of the Martensville family's court battle against the Saskatchewan Ministry of Social Services over the boy's treatment options is a cautionary tale.
People have to seek the truth for themselves.
The government should have no place in personal family decisions, he said. That's a philosophy to which Jim Pankiw, Reform MP for Saskatoon-Humboldt, also subscribes. In my view, they crossed the line. Mr. Pankiw said those who support the Duecks' cause come from all walks of life. Owen Griffiths, the Saskatoon lawyer who represented the Duecks in their court battles, said media coverage of the family and their supporters has been biased from the beginning.