Thank you, Madam Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted public hearings on Bill 7, Personal Directives Act, in the communities of Fort Smith, Fort Resolution, and Hay River during the week of June 22nd to the 28th, 2005, and in Yellowknife on October 11, 2005.
The Personal Directives Act will give northerners over the age of 19 the ability to provide advanced instructions about their health care should they become incapacitated and be unable to provide instructions. It is important to note that unless we enact this legislation, any instructions that a person would leave regarding their personal care, should they become incapacitated, would not necessarily have to be followed by their family or the health care professionals.
This bill would give standing to a personal directive made by a person and should be used in tandem with the Powers of Attorney Act, which allows a person to leave instructions about their financial matters in the event of an incapacity.
The committee noted that single legislation covering the use of personal directives exists in all other Canadian jurisdictions, with the exception of Nunavut. While the committee supports the bill, we are concerned about the lack of involvement by groups such as the NWT Medical Association and the Registered Nurses' Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in the process thus far.
Next to the agents and the families, these professionals would be most involved in implementing the personal directives. We accept the Minister's commitment that these groups will be involved in working out the implementation plan, including the necessary training for these professionals.
The other concerns expressed by the presenters centred on public education, ensuring that local people had access to help in preparing the personal directive in their own language. There are no concerns expressed about the actual content of the bill; these concerns are all related to the implementation of the act. The Standing Committee on Social Programs will be closely monitoring the rollout of the Personal Directive Act to ensure that the process is kept as simple and streamlined as possible, and that adequate training and support is provided to health care professionals.
This concludes the committee's general comments on Bill 7. Individual members may have questions or comments as we proceed. Thank you, Madam Chair.