Compassionate Care Act, 2020, S.O. 2020, c. 30 - Bill 3

• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Date: 02 December 2020
• Bill Number: 3

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 3 and does not form part of the law. Bill 3 has been enacted as Chapter 30 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2020.

The Bill enacts the Compassionate Care Act, 2020. The purpose of the Act is to develop a framework to ensure that every Ontarian has access to quality palliative care.

The Act requires the Minister of Health to develop a provincial framework designed to support improved access to palliative care. The Minister must table a report setting out the provincial framework in the Legislative Assembly within one year after the Bill comes into force. Within three years after the report is tabled, the Minister must prepare and table a report on the state of palliative care in Ontario. Each report must be published on a Government of Ontario website.

chapter 30

An Act providing for the development of a provincial framework on palliative care

Assented to December 2, 2020

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Purpose

1 The purpose of this Act is to develop a framework to ensure that every Ontarian has access to quality palliative care.

Provincial framework on palliative care

2 (1) The Minister of Health shall develop a provincial framework designed to support improved access to palliative care, provided through hospitals, home care, long-term care homes and hospices, that, among other things,

(a) defines what palliative care is;

(b) identifies the palliative care training and education needs of health care providers as well as other caregivers;

(c) identifies measures to support palliative care providers;

(d) identifies research and common data elements on palliative care;

(e) identifies measures to facilitate equitable access to palliative care across Ontario, with a focus on underserved populations;

(f) identifies measures to facilitate consistent access to palliative care across Ontario;

(g) takes into consideration existing palliative care frameworks, strategies and best practices;

(h) takes into consideration and supports the needs of specific patient populations, including paediatric patients; and

(i) leverages the expertise and capacities of other key partners in Ontario’s health system, such as the Ministry of Long-Term Care, Ontario Health, Ontario Health Teams, and other providers and organizations.

Development of framework

(2) In the...