In Ontario, the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA)[1] governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information within the health sector. The term “personal health information” is broadly defined in PHIPA and includes identifying information which is
Medical assistance in dying in Canada: one year later
Since the Canadian federal government introduced legislation governing medical assistance in dying (“MAiD”), the provinces and territories, which are responsible for the delivery of health care services in Canada, have adopted a variety of processes and procedures to deal with
Update on physician-assisted dying: A changing medical legal landscape
On February 29, 2016, an Alberta woman suffering from amynotrophic lateral sclerolsis (“ALS”), became the first person in Canada to obtain a physician-assisted death.
Four days prior to her death, Ms. S applied to the Alberta Court of the Queen’s
A loophole in the law of contracts? The application of the duty to act honestly
In its recent decision in Burquitlam Care Society v Fraser Health Authority, 2015 BCSC 1343, the British Columbia Supreme Court may have expanded the potential use of the common law duty to act honestly as a means for contracting
Physician-assisted dying part 3: Finding a balance between autonomy and access
“Health institutions, including regional health authorities and other institutional providers (e.g. hospitals, hospices and long-term care facilities) are critical enablers of effective and equitable access to physician-assisted dying.”
Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying,
Final Report, November 30, 2015,
Physician-assisted dying part 2: Implications for frontline healthcare professionals
“This issue is not one of life or death. The issue is what kind of death, an agonized or peaceful one. Shall we meet death in personal integrity or in personal disintegration? Should there be a moral or demoralized end