As reported in the media[i] [ii] [iii], Nova Scotia’s appeals court recently heard a case involving a woman who is trying to stop her husband from receiving medical assistance in dying (MAiD). The woman is appealing a lower court decision that rejected her request for an interlocutory injunction against her…
Section 7 of the Health Care Consent Act (1996)[i] provides direction for restraint and confinement in a care facility. It states: “This Act does not affect the common law duty of a caregiver to restrain or confine a person when immediate action is necessary to prevent serious bodily harm to…
While the courts will defer to the wishes of the incapable person regarding their attorney/guardian of personal care, they will also look at the past actions of the applicants.
Dr. Shulman reflects on his experiences with COVID-19 in the Seniors Mental Health Unit at Mississauga Hospital.
Last week I shared that as of April 19, 2020, there were 112 long-term care homes in Ontario impacted by COVID-19 outbreaks and as of April 26, there are now 147 facilities affected with 654 confirmed resident deaths. This number is staggering. What I do understand is that many of…
Emerson and Marie Lewis appointed two of their six adult children, Donald and Douglas Lewis, as their attorneys for property. Their remaining four children (the “non-attorney siblings”) commenced an application pursuant to ss. 42(1) and (4) of the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c.30 (the “SDA”) for leave to…
Financial elder abuse is defined by the World Health Organisation as the illegal or improper exploitation or use of funds or resources of the older person.[i] The misuse of a senior’s funds and assets involves the use of the senior’s funds without that senior’s knowledge and/or full consent, or, in…
Last month I wrote about the issue of consent for CPR, explaining that the Court in Wawrzyniak v. Livingstone confirmed that a physician’s duty is to his or her patient and not the interests of the substitute decision-maker (SDM). Treatments that are not believed to be in the interests of…
The case of Wawrzyniak v. Livingstone, 2019 ONSC 4900 (CanLII) is a landmark decision that readers may find interesting. It clarifies physicians’ obligations with respect to the writing of no-CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) orders and the provision of CPR in Ontario hospitals. The decision has led to the College of Physicians…
This blog was written by Suzanne Singh Census numbers from 2016 revealed that seniors in Canada were outnumbering children for the first time in the survey’s history (StatCan 2016 census). It follows that with the tax base getting smaller and demand for health care services increasing, we can expect challenges….
