Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is a good question. Currently in the act, there are several fall-back provisions which safeguard the patient's information and impose duties on the substitute consent giver who is appointed solely for record purposes. If this person wants to be exempt from liability under the act, there is a provision in section 59 which requires that person to act in good faith.
There is also a safeguard in the fact that the records are in the care and custody of the person in charge of the hospital. That person has discretion as to whether they are to be released, and that is indicated in section 48(3) of the act. If these records are released to a person who acts in less than good faith, the damage can be controlled by section 48(2), where it is clear that "no person shall disclose or transmit or examine a patient's health records, other than provided in the act." So, if a "bad" substitute consent giver acted improperly, he is punishable under the act for doing so. Thank you.