In an earlier entry I argued that governments should, as a rule, not oppose the people. I suggested that if the government lost a case to a citizen, the government should not appeal. Because the government IS the people, it should be glad a citizen won.

Such a situation has arisen in British Columbia. A mother has won the original case and every appeal. The government says it will ask the federal Supreme Court to rule. The issue is whether the government should pay for the special education required by a child because of his medical condition. The court said "yes". The appeals court said "yes". The provincial supreme court said "yes". The British Columbia government should announce "We are pleased to accept the decision that we are going to fund the education of your child. We are happy to have the opportunity to see that your child is educated to the best of his abilitiy, because both you and he are citizens of this province."

The government is not above the people. The government IS the people.