Oosterhoff’s bill makes third appearance
Compassionate Care Act championed by Niagara MPP
Third time’s the charm for Niagara WestGlanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff’s Compassionate Care Act.
The CCA, or Bill 3, passed second reading unanimously on July 26 after Oosterhoff presented it to the provincial legislature for the third time on July 18. It’s currently being discussed in the Standing Committee on General Government.
The Private Member’s Bill seeks to create an informed and meaningful framework to address palliative care.
“I think it’s a really important issue and it’s one I’ve done my best to be a champion of,” Oosterhoff said.
He referred to the current state of palliative care as a “postal code lottery.” While some regions offer adequate care, many do not, he said, pointing to Northern Ontario and Indigenous communities as examples of areas that need improved care.
Oosterhoff said there are about 350 hospice care beds in Ontario when there should be closer 1,300.
“It’s leading to a real crisis when it comes to being able to provide palliative care in a timely fashion and a compassionate sense,” he said.
Carol Nagy, the executive director of Hospice Niagara, said the bill is “absolutely necessary.”
“Without this kind of framework ... people are slipping through the cracks,” she said.
Nagy said that when it comes to specialized care, bodies are sectioned into parts — such as cardiologist, pediatrician, physchologist — but there’s a “gap” if people choose to discontinue care, or it’s no longer an option.
At that point, she said hospice palliative care is an option to continue living a quality life.
“We have pushed hospice palliative care out of the forefront and not embraced it within legislation and the medical community as a necessary part of everybody who is living with a life of illness approach to care,” Nagy said.
Nagy also said she’s unsurprised the Compassionate Care Act hasn’t passed yet because palliative care has always been an “afterthought.”
The act was introduced to the provincial legislature for the first time in November 2017, but was halted due to former Premier Kathleen Wynne’s proroguing of the legislature in March.
Oosterhoff introduced the bill for a second time on March 29, but the process was again interrupted, this time by the provincial election.
Oosterhoff admitted some frustration over trying to have his first Private Member's Bill passed, especially when it died after it received unanimous approval from all three parties in its second reading after he first introduced it.
“I was very disappointed in the way that my bill was treated at that time,” he said. “I hope to see much faster action on it this time around.”
With Premier Doug Ford’s recently elected Conservative majority government in power, there’s little standing in Oosterhoff’s way.
While he’d like to have the bill passed before the end of the year, Oosterhoff said he isn’t sure how realistic that is.
“I’ll be definitely advocating as strongly as I can to get it in place as soon as possible,” he said.
Nagy said she’d like to see a federal framework to work in conjunction with the provincial one.
Additional services she hopes to see included are hospices available within reasonable driving distances for everyone, outreach, home-care services, and more research on the subject.
“This is a real opportunity for us to continue to look at the benefits of this type of care,” Nagy said.
Both Oosterhoff and Nagy say they think this issue hasn’t been raised in the past because people don’t want to have a conversation about death.
Oosterhoff added, “At a certain point, we have to learn not only how to live well but also how to die well.”
We have pushed hospice palliative care out of the forefront and not embraced it ...
Carol Nagy