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441-01242 (Justice)
Original language of petition: English
Petition to the House of Commons
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada from the Province of Alberta, city of Calgary and British Columbia, cities of Victoria and White Rock.
We, the undersigned, hereby request that a law is enacted to prevent individuals who have a history of sexually inappropriate behaviours from residing in rooms near vulnerable individuals living in care homes in Canada.
We draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following:
- On April 16, 2020 Rita was sexually assaulted in her bed at a care home in Calgary, Alberta by another resident who had a longstanding history of sexual behaviours directed at female co-residents;
- Rita is a vulnerable person who has advanced Alzheimer's disease with limited movement of her arms and legs and no ability to use the call bell to call for help; and
- Protection for Persons in Care advised the family of Rita that the assailant resident had a history of sexual aggression in his chart and he had been found in the beds of two other women residents on January 9, 2020 and January 22, 2020 previous to Rita's assault.
Therefore your petitioners request the House of Commons enact a law to prevent individuals who have a history of sexually inappropriate behaviours from residing in rooms near vulnerable individuals living in care homes in Canada.
Response by the Minister of Seniors
Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Darren Fisher
Every senior in Canada deserves to live in dignity, safety and comfort, regardless of where they live, and the Government of Canada is committed to doing more to support seniors across the country.
On January 31, 2023, we welcomed the release of two independent LTC standards from CSA Group and the Health Standards Organization (HSO) that was shaped by the needs and diverse perspectives of thousands of Canadians across the country, including LTC residents, family members, caregivers, and health partners. These standards are an important step in helping to ensure quality care for seniors and will raise the bar for safe and respectful care in LTC homes across Canada.
The Criminal Code currently protects seniors against abuse and neglect through numerous offences of general application.
It contains a comprehensive set of offences prohibiting various forms of assault, including threats of harm and sexual assault, as well as negligence based offences that prohibit failing to provide necessary care to seniors or providing necessary care in a significantly deficient manner.
In addition to the Criminal Code, provinces and territories, including Alberta, each have legislation that address the health, well-being and safety of residents of long-term care homes.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and the Minister of Seniors’ 2021 Mandate Letters contain three commitments related to elder abuse:
- finalizing the national definition of elder abuse;
- investing in better data collection;
- establishing new offences penalties in the Criminal Code related to elder abuse.
The private member’s Bill C-295, tabled by the Honourable MP of the constituency of Vancouver Centre, was recently referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights for study. This Bill aims to protect vulnerable adults by amending the Criminal Code to create an offence for long-term care facilities, their owners and their managers to fail to provide the necessaries of life to residents of the facilities.
We thank MP of the constituency of Calgary for his work and advocacy on this issue.
- Presented to the House of Commons
-
Len Webber
(Calgary Confederation)
March 30, 2023 (Petition No. 441-01242) - Government response tabled
- May 15, 2023
Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.