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BILL NO. 30

(as introduced)

3rd Session, 63rd General Assembly
Nova Scotia
70 Elizabeth II, 2021

 

Private Member's Bill

 

Commission of Inquiry into Long-term Care Act

 

Susan Leblanc
Dartmouth North



First Reading: March 23, 2021

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

 

An Act to Establish a Commission
of Inquiry into Long-term Care

WHEREAS the World Health Organization declared a pandemic of the infectious disease COVID-19 on March 11, 2020;

AND WHEREAS Nova Scotia suffered 65 deaths due to COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic;

AND WHEREAS in Canada the vast majority of COVID-19-related deaths in the first year of the pandemic were in long-term care facilities;

AND WHEREAS of the COVID-19-related deaths in Nova Scotia in 2020, 53 occurred in one long-term care facility;

AND WHEREAS an initial review of the long-term care sector carried out for the Department of Health and Wellness in the summer of 2020 determined that there are problems in long-term care facilities, such as critical staff shortages and lack of infection control;

THEREFORE be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the Commission of Inquiry into Long-term Care Act.

2 In this Act,

(a) "Commission" means the commission established pursuant to Section 3;

(b) "facility" means a nursing home or residential care facility licensed by the Department of Health and Wellness under the Homes for Special Care Act and funded by the Department;

(c) "Minister" means the Minister of Health and Wellness;

(d) "resident" means a resident of a facility.

3 (1) Subject to Section 7, the Minister shall establish, by May 31, 2021, a commission of inquiry to investigate the state of long-term care in the Province.

(2) The Commission must include one or more members of the Minister’s Expert Advisory Panel on Long-term Care, if the member or members are available and willing to act on the Commission.

4 The Commission has all the powers, privileges and immunities of a commissioner pursuant to the Public Inquiries Act.

5 The Commission shall investigate the state of long-term care in the Province and make recommendations respecting

(a) funding for facilities;

(b) staffing levels at facilities;

(c) minimum hours of care per resident per day;

(d) timelines for the phase-out of multi-resident living units;

(e) accounting of capital needs of existing facilities;

(f) potential need for additional facilities;

(g) changes that may be required regarding the conditions of work for staff at facilities;

(h) inspection routines and standards;

(i) data gathering and reporting; and

(j) maintaining safe operating conditions and residents’ quality of life during a health-based state of emergency.

6 The Commission shall, not later than November 15, 2021,

(a) prepare and submit to the Minister a report containing the Commission’s findings and recommendations; and

(b) make the report public.

7 The money required for the purpose of this Act must be paid out of money appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature.

 


This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2021 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created March 23, 2021. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.