In this episode of Euthanasia & Disability, Amy Hasbrouck, Christian Debray, and Taylor Hyatt discuss:
- Review of Canadian disability legislation: federal
- Quebec man dies after alleged denial of medical treatment
Please note that this text is only a script and that our webcast contains additional commentary.
REVIEW OF CANADIAN DISABILITY RIGHTS: FEDERAL LEGISLATION
- This week, federal politicians came back to work in Ottawa after their summer break. Somewhere on their to-do list is “Write a draft of a Canadians with Disabilities Act.” – legislation designed to create consistent accessibility standards across Canada. For the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at disability rights legislation throughout the country. Today, we’ll talk about the current status of the federal law; later, we’ll examine what the provinces have put in place.
- Right now, the only law guaranteeing equal treatment for people with disabilities is Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It states that “Every individual is equal…under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination…based on … mental or physical disability,” as well as other factors like race, gender, or age.
- Courts at the local, provincial, and national levels interpret what this section means and apply it to specific cases where someone claims their rights have been denied. The problem is that court decisions only apply to one situation. A case involving a secondary school in British Columbia might not be applied to a University in Nova Scotia.
- The other problem faced by people with disabilities is that it’s not enough for a business or social service to say “we welcome everybody,” if there are stairs up to the door or no way for deaf people to communicate. Disability rights laws have the power to make government agencies and private businesses remove barriers and modify their programs to make it possible for disabled people to use them.
- From June 2016 to this past February, the Minister for People with Disabilities, Carla Qualtrough, toured the country to gather comments from Canadians about what federal disability rights legislation should include. Ideas were also sent in over the phone, and through videos, emails, and letters. About 6,000 people and 90 organizations participated.
- The introductory report, a summary of comments the government received, was published in August. It identified a few main areas to improve:
- employment,
- access to buildings and other public spaces,
- transportation (between provinces and countries) by airplane, train, ferry and bus,
- information and communication in customer service; and
- access to products and services – especially technology.
- While this bill would be a good first step, it leaves a lot of important things out, such as access to housing, recreation opportunities, education, and healthcare. It is important to know that the federal government’s power to make changes is limited. For example, travel between and within cities is managed by local governments. Provinces, cities, and the federal government must all cooperate to make changes to housing.
- Feedback from the federal consultation will be shared with provinces and cities where necessary, but the individual provinces will have to come up with their own laws in order to create something as far-reaching as the Americans with Disabilities Act in the US.
- Here are some key points from the report:
- Hiring and recruiting processes need to be made accessible and equitable. Employees who become disabled should also be supported in their return to work.
- When it comes to accessibility, ramps and wheelchair-sized washrooms usually come to mind first. However, vision, hearing, and intellectual disabilities also need to be considered. There was a discussion about updating existing building standards and rewarding organizations for going beyond the minimum requirements currently in place.
- Difficulties with service counters, phone and Internet communication, inaccessible document formats, lack of sign language interpretation, and staff inexperience with personal communication devices leave Canadians with disabilities at a disadvantage. Website content and electronic devices need to be designed with access in mind as well; screen readers, for example, cannot be used on many mobile sites.
- Finally, we’ve reached the most frustrating part of this whole business. The law is worth nothing if it will not be enforced. Suggestions included regular audits describing achievements or violations, a way to file complaints, and the creation of an oversight body. Many consequences were proposed for organizations that do not comply with the law: fines, mandatory training, or even cancellation of licences and permits were suggested.
- And now…we wait! We know what the public has asked for, but not when the bill will be introduced. A new Minister in charge of disability affairs, Kent Hehr, is now responsible for drafting and filing the bill. Hopefully something useful will come out of this process.
QUEBEC MAN DIES AFTER ALLEGED DENIAL OF MEDICAL TREATMENT
- Mary Lucille Durocher, of Shawville, Quebec, has filed a complaint with her regional health and social services centre regarding the death of her husband, Herman Morin. Mr. Morin, aged 55, had been diagnosed with cancer. He was given a prognosis of one year and would have started chemotherapy this month. Mr. Morin wanted to live as long as possible to see his daughters graduate from college and university.
- In June, Mr. Morin was diagnosed with a bladder infection at a local medical clinic. He was transferred to Shawville Hospital on June 12 for tests that were reportedly never done. Ms. Durocher also says that her husband was given the pain medication Dilaudid despite a statement in his medical records that he was allergic.
- As a result, Mr. Morin could no longer keep food or drink down. He was not given an IV to stay hydrated. Ms. Durocher was eventually able to switch the pain medication to morphine. However, Mr. Morin still did not receive antibiotics. His condition grew worse throughout the week, until he died on June 16.
- When Ms. Durocher insisted that Mr. Morin’s bladder infection be treated with antibiotics, doctors allegedly told her that because Mr. Morin’s cancer was spreading, it was “better to let him die from the infection” within days than to have him suffer through the cancer’s final stages over the next year.
- We don’t have much information on this situation. If the incident happened as Ms. Durocher claims, it indicates that doctors thought that some degrees of illness are not worth treating.
- Section 6 of Québec’s Act respecting health and social services states that “Nothing in this Act shall restrict the freedom of a professional to accept or refuse to treat a person.” However, the Health and Social Services Act also provides that “[e]very person whose life or bodily integrity is endangered is entitled to receive the care required by his condition.” Section 23 of the Quebec Physicians’ Code of Ethics says a doctor may not refuse to treat a person solely for reasons related to “the nature of a deficiency or illness,” or other circumstances surrounding the illness.
