For those
interested concerned with issues around "consent" (and that should be all of us), might I suggest the recent presentation given by Professor Sheila Wildeman, a law professor at the Schullich School of Law (aka Dalhousie Law School).
Prof. Wildeman has a deep understanding of the issues involved under the
Incompetent Persons Act and other relevant legislation in Nova Scotia. Beginning with the now well-known
story of Jenny Hatch (the young American woman with Down Syndrome who successfully fought her parents' guardianship application), Professor Wildeman goes on to examine the current state of the law surrounding "legal capacity" in Nova Scotia in regards to guardianship and health and personal care decisions.
But she doesn't just offer a useful tour through the current state of the law - Professor Wildeman does an excellent job of setting out the fundamental values that are at stake here and explaining the differences between substitute decision-making regimes (such as guardianship) and supported decision-making (one of the
newest buzz terms in the disability community).
Yes, the lecture is lengthy but I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to get a real grasp on these issues. Because, really, without a firm grasp on these issues, how we can expect to advocate effectively for ourselves and our loved ones?
On a related note, I present to you ARCH's
analysis of the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in
Cuthbertson v. Rasouli, 2013 SCC 53.
In
Cuthberton, the SCC was asked to examine the process that the law requires when an incapable person is unable to provide consent or refusal in situations involving life support. Decided under Ontario's
Health Care Consent Act, the Court concluded that “treatment” under this
Act extended to withdrawal of life support, contrary to the arguments of the doctors.
