Yesterday, I blogged about ACE and the OHC’s Charter challenge to Bill 7 (the More Beds, Better Care Act, 2022). In yesterday’s blog, I provided a brief overview of the social context that seemingly led to Bill 7. Namely, strains on funding, an aging population, a lack of hospital beds and a plethora of issues regarding long-term care, each of which were amplified by a global pandemic. I also outlined the basis on which ACE and the OHC argue Bill 7 is not the answer to these problems, but continues to exacerbate them in a manner that violates sections 7 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Today, I thought I would write about two Bills that seek to address some of the many issues faced by our vulnerable adult population.
Bill C-295 – An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (neglect of vulnerable adults)
Bill C-295 seeks to amend the Criminal Code to create an offence for long-term care facilities, their owners and their managers, who fail to provide necessaries of life to residents of the facilities.
The Bill is a private member’s bill which passed its second reading on March 8, 2023, and has been referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
In creating the new offence, the Bill seeks to allow the court to make an order prohibiting the owners and managers of long-term care facilities from being (through employment or volunteering), “in charge of or in a position of trust or authority towards vulnerable adults,” through a prohibition order. If the Bill comes into force, a person bound by a prohibition order, who fails to comply, will be guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years. With regard to sentencing, the Bill would have the court consider as an aggravating factor, whether an organization failed to perform the legal duty that it owed to a vulnerable adult.
The Bill has been described as “a step in the right direction but risks being a public-relations exercise and falling short of meaningful change if the government ends up supporting it in isolation.”
Bill 74 – An Act to Amend the Missing Persons Act, 2018
Bill 74 seeks to provide for the ability to issue AMBER alerts for a missing person who, “because of their age, a disability or other circumstances, whether temporary or permanent, is in a position of dependency on others or is otherwise at a greater risk than the general population of being harmed by a person in a position of trust or authority towards them.”
Bill 74 passed its first reading on March 6, 2023, and on March 28, 2023 was referred to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy.
In short, the Bill seeks to allow for the issuance of AMBER alerts to include all vulnerable people, not just children. Currently, AMBER alerts are only issued to those under the age of 17, in the event of a child abduction.
We will continue to monitor the status of Bill 74 and Bill C-295, and whether Royal Assent is in the Bills’ futures.
Thanks for reading!