Recent Government of Canada Publications from the Weekly Acquisitions List

The Government of Canada's Weekly Acquisitions List is a list of publications by various public bodies and agencies of the federal government that were catalogued in the previous week. 

Some of the documents in the most recent list include:

• Missing records, missing children : interim report of the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples: "Despite progress on uncovering the truth surrounding residential schools, grey areas remain. The committee’s recent work found that many questions remain unanswered regarding the transfer of records about residential schools to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. As such, the committee decided to do a focused study to hear from federal, provincial, and territorial governments as well as from Catholic entities who have not yet fulfilled the requirements stipulated under the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement to remit records. Records are scattered across the country with no way of finding them other than traveling to a location and physically searching through dense linear feet of paper records. Indigenous families must conduct such searches to determine what happened to their children who went missing while attending the schools, or who went missing from health or social services institutions administered by provincial or territorial governments. This report, entitled Missing Children, Missing Records, makes 11 recommendations to improve access to residential school records. The key message is that the Government of Canada needs to support Indigenous communities to locate and access residential school records. The committee believes the federal Documents Advisory Committee is an important initiative and recommends that its work be funded and supported by dedicated staff to ensure it can meet its mandate."
• Emergency Preparedness and Response in Canada for People Living with Dementia (Public Health Agency of Canada): "This public opinion research report presents the results of online focus groups/dyads and in-depth interviews conducted by Narrative Research on behalf of Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada to better understand the current state of emergency preparedness and response guidance and the adequacy of measures to protect and support people living with dementia during emergency situations, with a particular focus on how to better prepare for future climate-related emergency situations. The research included a total of 25 online focus groups of various sizes, two dyad and 11 indepth interviews conducted from January 25th to February 23rd, 2024, divided into the following categories: people living with dementia who confirmed their ability to participate, unpaid caregivers to people living with dementia, and paid care providers who care for and interact, either directly or indirectly, with people living with dementia in a professional capacity, including paid care and support personnel, first responders, and government/logistical planners. Good geographic coverage was achieved across Canada and various community sizes were represented, including large urban, small/medium size urban, and rural areas."
• Report of the second legislative review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (Health Canada): "In Canada, responsibility for health-related matters such as tobacco control is shared between the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. The Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) is the federal legislation that regulates the manufacture, sale, labelling and promotion of tobacco and vaping products. Each province and territory also has laws and regulations in place for tobacco control. These pieces of legislation work together with other tobacco control tools such as policy and programs, to address tobacco-related disease and death. As written in the legislation, the TVPA’s overall purpose is to 'provide a legislative response to a national public health problem of substantial and pressing concern and to protect the health of Canadians in light of conclusive evidence implicating tobacco use in the incidence of numerous debilitating and fatal diseases'. It supports four specific objectives related to tobacco products: to protect young persons and others from inducements to use tobacco products and the consequent dependence on them; to protect the health of young persons by restricting access to tobacco products; to prevent the public from being deceived or misled with respect to the health hazards of using tobacco products; and to enhance public awareness of those hazards. The TVPA includes a requirement for a legislative review of its provisions and operation to take place every two years. This review assessed whether progress was made towards achieving the tobacco-related objectives of the TVPA and whether the federal response, from a legislative perspective, is sufficient in addressing tobacco use in Canada."

All of the Provinces' COVID-19 Long-Term Care Visitor Policies

The Canadian Centre for Elder Law, affiliated with the British Columbia Law Institute, has published a list of all the COVID-19 visitor policies for long-term care facilities across Canada:

"All provinces and territories in Canada have some form of COVID-19 visitation policy or guideline for long-term care facilities. This blog provides brief summaries of the COVID-19 visitation policies adopted by Canadian provinces and territories. Links to the full policies and public health orders are included where more details can be found. This information is up to date as of January 4, 2021."

The list was compiled by Nicole Freeman, a third-year law student at University of Victoria.

Australian Law Reform Commission Report on Elder Abuse

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) released a landmark report on elder abuse last week.

The Attorney-General of Australia asked the ALRC to conduct this Inquiry into elder abuse in February 2016.

The Inquiry forms part of a range of initiatives aimed at addressing elder abuse and builds on a number of other reviews, including: the 2007 report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Older People and the Law; the 2015 report of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee into violence, abuse and neglect against people with disability in institutional and residential settings; the 2016 research report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, Elder Abuse: Understanding Issues, Frameworks and Responses; and the ALRC’s 2014 report, Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws.

The Report includes 43 recommendations dealing with laws and legal frameworks across national, state and territory laws. The goal of these recommendations is to achieve a nationally consistent response to elder abuse and support the choices and wishes of vulnerable elderly people through

• improved responses to elder abuse in residential aged care;
• enhanced employment screening of care workers;
• greater scrutiny regarding the use of restrictive practices in aged care;
• building trust and confidence in enduring documents as important advanced planning tools;
• protecting older people when ‘assets for care’ arrangements go wrong;
• banks and financial institutions protecting vulnerable customers from abuse;
• better succession planning across the self-managed superannuation sector;
• adult safeguarding regimes protecting and supporting at-risk adults.

Law Commission of Ontario Final Report on Legal Capacity, Decision-Making and Guardianship

The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) has released its Final Report on Legal Capacity, Decision-making and Guardianship.

From the Executive Summary:

"Legal capacity, decision-making and guardianship laws affect thousands of Ontarians and their families every day. Most obviously, these laws affect the approximately 17,000 Ontarians who are currently subject to some kind of a guardianship order or the thousands of others whose capacity is assessed as part of obtaining consent to health care treatments, for admission to residency to a long term care home, or as part of the provision of many other services. In addition, every Ontarian who has ever granted or been given a power of attorney is affected by this area of law (...)"

"Does the System Reflect Contemporary Needs?
Over the years, Ontarians have developed increasingly nuanced and sensitive understandings of the needs and capabilities of the individuals, families, and others affected by these laws. The Final Report considers whether the system in Ontario reflects and responds to these understandings. The LCO considers needs from multiple perspectives, including persons directly affected, families, service providers and professionals, and others. The LCO also considers needs in light of demographic and social trends, changing family structures, and Ontario’s cultural and linguistic diversity."

"Is the System Working on the Ground?
The LCO’s Final Report discusses the legislative framework and objectives of Ontario’s capacity, decision-making and guardianship system at length. The Final Report considers whether Ontario achieves these objectives in practice. In other words, the project considers whether there is gap between the formal law – as expressed in statutes – and lived experience of the legislation. Understanding and addressing the “implementation gap” is an important theme in the Final Report."

"Are the System’s Legal Protections Adequate and Accessible?
Meaningful access to justice underpins the entire legal capacity, decision-making and guardianship system. Effective and appropriate mechanisms for dispute resolution and rights enforcement are therefore a priority in the Final Report."

The report makes a number of proposals that would reduce abuse of vulnerable individuals, including elder abuse and reduce misuse and abuse of powers of attorney though better education, transparency and monitoring. 

Australian Law Reform Commission Inquiry into Elder Abuse

The Australian Law Reform Commission recently launched an inquiry on Protecting the Rights of Older Australians from Abuse.

According to the terms of reference for the inquiry set out by the country's Attorney-General, the Commission will examine:

• "existing Commonwealth laws and frameworks which seek to safeguard and protect older persons from misuse or abuse by formal and informal carers, supporters, representatives and others. These should include, but not be limited to, regulation of:
  • financial institutions
  • superannuation
  • social security
  • living and care arrangements, and
  • health
• the interaction and relationship of these laws with state and territory laws..."
  
  "In undertaking this reference, the ALRC should identify and model best-practice legal frameworks. The ALRC should also have regard to other inquiries and reviews that it considers relevant, including:
  
• the recommendations of ALRC Report 124, Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws (2014)
• the recommendations of  the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs report on violence, abuse and neglect against people with disability (2015), and
• the recommendations of the Commonwealth House of Representatives report, Older People and the Law (2007)."

Law Commission of Ontario Releases Interim Report on Legal Capacity, Decision-making and Guardianship

This is a follow-up to the Library Boy post of June 26, 2014 entitled Law Commission of Ontario Discussion Paper on Legal Capacity, Decision-making and Guardianship.

Earlier this week, the Commission released its Interim Report on Legal Capacity, Decision-making and Guardianship.

The Commission is looking for feedback from the public by March 4, 2016 as part of its consultation process.

The report is one of the elements of a major project to look at how decisions related to property, treatment and personal care are made in situations where individuals’ decision-making abilities are in impaired, but decisions must nonetheless be made.

Related posts on Library Boy include:

• British Columbia Law Institute Consultation Paper on Common-Law Tests of Capacity (February 26, 2013)
• Australian Law Reform Commission Paper on Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws (November 17, 2013)
• Law Commission of Ontario Discussion Paper on Capacity of Adults with Mental Disabilities and the Registered Disability Savings Plan (December 8, 2013)
• Law Commission of Ontario Papers on Legal Capacity, Decision-Making and Guardianship (March 25, 2014) 
• Alberta Law Reform Institute Report on Beneficiary Designation by Substitute Decision Makers (April 22, 2014)

Alberta Law Reform Institute Report on Beneficiary Designation by Substitute Decision Makers

The Alberta Law Reform Institute has released a report on Beneficiary Designation by Substitute Decision Makers that deals with the issue of who gets to designate beneficiaries of pension plans and insurance policies when the owner has lost legal capacity, especially due to age.

It is legally unclear if a substitute decision maker has the legal authority to make, change or revoke beneficiary designations on behalf of the represented adult.

The report proposes changes to a number of provincial Acts:

"This report recommends legislative changes to ensure that testamentary wishes are respected. The most common situation is when an attorney or trustee needs to transfer a plan or policy from one institution or company to another, or to convert an RSP to an RIF when the owner attains age 71. The first recommendation would clarify the law by expressly allowing an attorney or a trustee to make an administrative change on behalf of the donor or represented adult by designating any beneficiary named under a plan or policy when renewing, replacing or converting that plan or policy."

"Another situation where the inability to update beneficiary designations may produce unexpected and unfair results is the beneficiary designation in favour of a former spouse or adult interdependent partner. There is a common misconception that such a designation is revoked at the end of a marriage or an adult interdependent partnership. But this is not the case. While a gift in a will to a spouse or adult interdependent partner is revoked as though the former spouse or adult interdependent partner had predeceased the testator, a beneficiary designation remains in effect unless the plan or policy owner takes some positive action to change that designation. If the owner has lost the capacity to designate a new beneficiary – and the attorney or trustee does not have the authority to make, change or revoke the designation – the former spouse or adult interdependent partner will continue to benefit. The same will happen if the plan or policy owner forgets to revoke the unwanted beneficiary designation. The second aspect of our recommendations would clarify the law by making it consistent with the approach taken with respect to gifts in a will."

British Columbia Law Institute Report on Assisted Living

The British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) and the Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL) have jointly issued a Report on Assisted Living in British Columbia containing 50 recommendations for reform of the legal and regulatory framework for assisted living in B.C.:

"The Assisted Living Reform Project Committee that developed the recommendations in the report included representatives from residents’ and tenants’ advocacy organizations, private providers of assisted living, BC Housing, a regional health authority, the Office of the Ombudsperson, as well as distinguished lawyers practising in the elder law field."

"Assisted living is a form of rental housing where meals, light housekeeping, and certain personal care services are provided to residents in addition to accommodation. It is intended for seniors and persons with disabilities who require some personal services, but not 24-­‐hour care."

"While the number of assisted living dwelling units in B.C. has increased greatly over the past decade, the respective rights and obligations of residents and operators of assisted living facilities remain uncertain in many areas. The BCLI / CCEL report contains reform recommendations to address these deficiencies in the existing framework, which were also identified and criticized in the Ombudsperson’s comprehensive report on seniors’ care in B.C. issued in 2012." [from the press release]

Saskatchewan Law Reform Commission Report on Civil Rights in long-Term care Facilities

The Saskatchewan Law Reform Commission has released its final report on Civil Rights in Saskatchewan Long-term Care Facilities:

"Elderly people and others in long - term care are entitled to the same respect as other citizens. Violation of civil rights of long - term care residents is a form of abuse which may range from life threatening abuse to simple disrespect for the autonomy and privacy of residents. The focus of this paper is on violations of the rights of residents, partic ularly when they do not involve physical abuse, and particularly when they may not be effectively addressed by existing protocols designed to deal with more blatant forms of abuse. Responses to the Consultation Paper highlighted that long - term care staff, residents, and resident families and supporters may be unfamiliar with rights in long - term care, including how to assert these rights and seek remedy for their breach. New steps should be taken to ensure civil rights are recognized in long - term care. This Final Report sets out the Commission’s proposals to improve civil rights in long - term care facilities."

UK Government to Implement Law Commission Report on Adult Social Care

I post frequently about the work of various law reform commissions in Canada and abroad. I sometimes receive e-mails asking whether these commissions ever have any real impact.

In fact, many of them do and I was informed of a very recent example just a few days ago.

Last week, the UK government issued a draft bill that incorporates many of the recommendations of the English Law Commission's work on adult social care. A report was published by the Commission in 2011.

The government's response to the Law Commission report as well as the draft bill can be found on the UK Department of Health website.

Library of Parliament Legislative Summary of Protecting Canada’s Seniors Act

The Library of Parliament has made available its legislative summary of Bill C-36: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (Elder Abuse):

"Bill C-36, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (elder abuse) (short title: Protecting Canada’s Seniors Act), was introduced in the House of Commons on 15 March 2012 by the Honourable Gordon O’Connor, for the Minister of Justice, the Honourable Rob Nicholson. The bill specifies that 'evidence that the offence had a significant impact on the victim, considering their age and other personal circumstances, including their health and financial situation' is an aggravating factor to be taken into account during sentencing for a crime (...)"

"The aggravating factors enumerated in section 718.2(a) of the Criminal Code were introduced in 1995 as part of a lengthy process of sentencing reform that also resulted in the codification of the purpose and fundamental principle of sentencing and the creation of 'conditional sentences' (sentences of imprisonment to be served in the community), among other developments. Generally speaking, when aggravating factors, or aggravating circumstances, are present in a particular case, the judge will impose a lengthier sentence to better reflect the gravity of the offence (...)"

"Bill C-36 consists of three clauses, including the short title (clause 1) and the provision indicating that the bill will come into force 30 days after Royal Assent (clause 3). The only substantive provision is clause 2, which would add a seventh enumerated aggravating factor to section 718.2(a) of the Code. In particular, section 718.2(a)(iii.1) would specify that 'evidence that the offence had a significant impact on the victim, considering their age and other personal circumstances, including their health and financial situation' is deemed to be an aggravating circumstance to be taken into consideration during sentencing."

"The term 'elder abuse' does not appear in the text of the bill, nor does the bill indicate that the aggravating circumstance will apply only if the victim has reached a specified age. As a result, it is possible that the aggravating factor could be applied in cases that would not generally be perceived as cases of 'elder abuse'."

Law Commission of Ontario Releases Draft Framework for the Law As It Affects Older Adults

Last week, the Law Commission of Ontario released its proposed Draft Framework for the Law as it Affects Older Adults:

"The Framework is intended to assist with the development and evaluation of laws, policies and practices to ensure that the realities of the circumstances and experiences of older adults are taken into account, and that laws, policies and programs promote positive outcomes for these members of society."

"It is accompanied by an extensive Interim Report, which sets out the research and analysis which form the basis for the Framework, and provides examples of its implications and implementation."

"It is built upon and expands on work already done in this area, including the National Framework on Aging and Seniors Policy Lens, the International Principles for Older Persons and other international documents, the Senate Special Committee Report on Aging, the work of the Ontario Human Rights Commission on human rights and older age, and many other important initiatives that have been undertaken both in Canada and abroad over the last fifteen years."

The Interim Report is available on the Commission website. The Commission is holding public consultations on the Draft Framework that run until November 18, 2011.

Earlier Library Boy posts on elder law include:

• New Canadian Journal on Elder Law (December 18, 2008)
• New Guide to Elder Abuse and Neglect Law in Canada (January 22, 2011)
• Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia Final Report on Seniors-Only Housing (May 22, 2011)
• New Study of Key Canadian Elder Abuse and Neglect Cases (June 15, 2011)

New Study of Key Canadian Elder Abuse and Neglect Cases

The Canadian Centre for Elder Law marked World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (June 15) by publishing a discussion paper entitled Moving From Scrutiny to Strategy: An Analysis of Key Canadian Elder Abuse and Neglect Cases.

The Centre is affiliated with the British Columbia Law Institute.

The discussion paper "reviews a number of recent elder abuse and neglect cases that have been recorded in Canadian court decisions – largely criminal cases. The cases serve as a backdrop for highlighting social dynamics at play in elder abuse cases, comparing relevant legislation across the country, clarifying legal obligations to respond to elder abuse under legislation and professional codes of ethics, and making recommendations for protocol and policy development, and professional development and training to support the practice of health care and social service workers in the area of elder abuse and neglect."

Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia Final Report on Seniors-Only Housing

The Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia has released its final report on Seniors-Only Housing:

"This report considers whether to amend the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act to provide an exemption for seniors-only housing. Under such an exemption, a housing development (nursing home, assisted living facility, mobile home park, public housing, condominium project, subdivision, etc.) which restricted residence to seniors would be immune from a complaint of age discrimination under the Act. Such an exemption has been adopted in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland & Labrador (...)"

"We conclude that the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act should not be amended to expressly exempt seniors-only housing. The compelling interests that may be served by some forms of housing that cater to seniors’ distinctive needs are better protected, we suggest, by a case-specific approach under the existing provisions of the Human Rights Act, rather than a blanket exemption for any seniors-only rule in respect of housing."

New Guide to Elder Abuse and Neglect Law in Canada

The British Columbia Law Institute has released A Practical Guide to Elder Abuse and Neglect Law in Canada:

"This comprehensive resource includes snapshots of the law in each of the thirteen provinces and territories, a comparative table that allows for quick reference, a set of guiding principles for working with vulnerable adults, and sections that discuss mandatory reporting of abuse and neglect, rules around confidentiality of personal and health information, and the relationship between mental capacity and elder abuse. The guide also contains a lengthy list of resource agencies."

[Source: Slaw.ca]

Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia Paper on Seniors-Only Housing

The Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia has published a discussion paper on Seniors-only Housing:

"This discussion paper considers whether to amend the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act to provide an exemption for seniors-only housing. Under such an exemption, a housing development (nursing home, assisted living facility, mobile home park, public housing, condominium project, subdivision, etc.) which restricted residence to seniors would be immune from a complaint of age discrimination under the Act. Such an exemption has been adopted in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland & Labrador. In Nova Scotia, a private members bill along similar lines was introduced in 2006, but did not pass. The question of whether to introduce such an exemption into the Nova Scotia Act has now been referred to the Commission by the Attorney-General."

"This paper first discusses the potential scope of ‘seniors only housing’ developments, and outlines the current situation in Nova Scotia. It then identifies the problem of age discrimination under the Human Rights Act, and outlines the legislative provisions that some other provinces have adopted to avoid that problem."

"A number of social policy issues are raised by the question of introducing an express amendment into the Human Rights Act. The paper proposes a framework for examining those issues."

Law Commission of Ontario Sponsoring Elder Law Conference

The Law Commission of Ontario is partnering later this month with the Canadian Centre for Elder Law and the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly to host the 5th annual Canadian Conference on Elder Law in Toronto.

The conference will be held on Friday October 29 and Saturday October 30, 2010.

According to the draft programme, the gathering will examine issues of elder rights, ageism and the law, access to justice, and law reform for older persons.

Library of Parliament Legislative Summary of Bill to Exclude Prisoners from Old Age Pension

The Library of Parliament has published its legislative summary of Bill C-31: An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act:

"The Old Age Security Act (OASA) provides that a low-income Canadian resident who has retired may receive the old age security pension and the guaranteed income supplement. At present, under the OASA, the pension and other benefits are granted to any person who meets the eligibility criteria. The fact that a pensioner is serving a sentence of imprisonment does not affect the eligibility criteria for the pension."

"Bill C-31 provides that the old age security pension, the guaranteed income supplement and the allowance provided for in the OASA will not be paid to anyone incarcerated in a federal institution (where inmates are generally serving a sentence of at least two years) or in a provincial or territorial institution if the sentence of imprisonment is more than 90 days. Payment of the pension or other benefit will not resume until the pensioner informs the Minister in writing of his or her release. However, the allowance to the spouse or common-law partner will continue to be paid based on the individual income of the spouse or common-law partner, rather than on the couple's income."

It is possible to follow progress of the bill on the LEGISinfo website.

New Canadian Journal on Elder Law

The Canadian Centre for Elder Law has released the first issue of the Canadian Journal of Elder Law.

It describes itself as the first Canadian peer-reviewed journal focused on elder law issues.

The Centre was established in 2003 by the British Columbia Law Institute.

[Source: Courthouse Libraries BC]