Proposed Support for Seniors and Caregivers Act, 2024: Proposals to amend the Retirement Homes Act, 2010 (RHA)
Regulation Number(s):
Instrument Type:
Act
Bill or Act:
Retirement Homes Act, 2010 (RHA)
Summary of Proposal:
As part of a broader plan to meet the needs of Ontario's aging population, the Ontario government is taking action to better support seniors and those who care for them, by improving and expanding supports for seniors living in long-term care, retirement homes and in the community.
The Ontario government is introducing an act that if passed, would amend the Retirement Homes Act, 2010 (RHA) to strengthen resident protections in the following two areas.
Schedule 2 would amend s. 51(1) of the Residents' Bill of Rights to include a residents' right to ongoing support from caregivers for their physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being and quality of life, subject to regulations setting out who are caregivers.
This would clarify and reinforce the right of every resident to ongoing support from their caregivers. This amendment addresses issues with respect to resident access to family/friends who provided informal care during the COVID-19 pandemic which were highlighted by Ontario's Auditor General in the 2020 Value for Money Audit of the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority. It is also in line with best practices established in many retirement homes as noted in initial stakeholder consultations.
If passed, this amendment would come into force on the day named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, as further regulatory amendments would be needed.
Schedule 2 would also add a new provision to the RHA to grant authority for a designated senior employee of the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility (MSAA) to provide direction or recommendations to all or a class of retirement home licensees respecting the prevention and management of infectious respiratory diseases or infectious gastrointestinal diseases. This section would require licensees to implement directions and to consider and decide whether to implement recommendations. The proposed amendment clarifies what circumstances would prevail in the event of a conflict between direction or recommendations provided under this new section and the scenarios listed in the section. It also provides that Part III of the Legislation Act would not apply to direction provided under this new section.
This amendment would formalize the collaboration between MSAA and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health that has occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic to provide streamlined, tailored guidance for the retirement homes sector regarding these diseases. The current RHA does not reflect MSAA's role.
If passed, this amendment would come into force on the day the Support for Seniors and Caregivers Act, 2024 receives Royal Assent.
Analysis of Regulatory Impact:
The Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility (MSAA) has completed a preliminary analysis of the regulatory impact of the proposed legislative amendments. The proposal is not anticipated to result in any new regulatory burden or direct compliance costs for regulated entities. The proposed changes also reflect current practices in the sector based on feedback from initial stakeholder consultations.
If passed, the proposal would benefit retirement home residents, staff and licensees by:
• supporting resident health and social well-being, particularly for individuals living with dementia and individuals who rely on caregivers to make retirement home residency more sustainable.
• ensuring the ability to provide timely, streamlined direction tailored to retirement homes to prevent and manage infectious respiratory or gastrointestinal diseases.
If passed, licensed retirement homes would be required to ensure that the rights set out in the Residents' Bill of Rights are fully respected and promoted in the home, including providing an updated Residents' Bill of Rights in new resident information packages and posting it in the home. A resident of a retirement home has the right to enforce the Residents' Bill of Rights against the licensee of the home as though the resident and the home had signed a contract obliging the home to fully respect and promote the rights set out in the Residents' Bill of Rights.
If passed, MSAA would be able to specify future infectious respiratory or gastrointestinal diseases measures that are binding and enforceable by the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA). MSAA would also be able to recommend measures that retirement homes should consider implementing if relevant or appropriate to their resident population, capacity, or other factors. These recommendations would not be binding.
To quantify the impacts of implementing these proposed amendments, the Ministry seeks comments and feedback pertaining to anticipated one-time and ongoing costs and benefits from specific affected entities.
Further Information:
Proposal Number:
24-MSAA003
Posting Date:
December 4, 2024
Comments Due Date:
January 6, 2025
Contact Address:
Retirement Homes Branch
Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility
777 Bay Street, Suite 601C
Toronto, ON, M7A 2J4