CONSULTATION QUESTIONNAIRES
Consultation questionnaire for individuals receiving assistance with decisions
About This Questionnaire
The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) is an independent organization that studies laws and makes recommendations to the government about how to make laws fairer, easier to use, and more effective. You can find more information about us on our website, here: www.lco-cdo.org.
We are studying the laws about what happens when people need assistance in making important decisions. This includes laws about, for example, powers of attorney and guardians. We are looking at how people who need it get assistance with decision-making, what kind of help they can get, and what happens when things go wrong. We want to know how well the law is working for people now, if changes are needed, and if so, what kinds of changes would be helpful. We would like to hear from you about your experiences as someone who receives help with decision-making.
Completing This Questionnaire
You can answer our questions in the way that is easiest for you. You can
- write the answers to our questions on this form and mail it back to us at the address belo
- fill out this form on your computer, and email it back to us as an attachment.
- fill out the answers on our website, here: http://www.lco-cdo.org/en/capacity-guardianship-consultation- • questionnaire-individuals [Questionnaire no longer available].
- call us using our local or toll-free telephone numbers, and we will write the answers down for you.
You do not need to answer all of the questions. You can answer only the ones that are important to you.
To contact us
Law Commission of Ontario 2032 Ignat Kaneff Building
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University 4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3
Web: www.lco-cdo.org
E-mail: LawCommission@lco-cdo.org Follow us on Twitter @LCO_CDO Tel: (416) 650-8406
Toll-Free: 1 (866) 950-8406
Fax: (416) 650-8418
TTY: (416) 650-8082
Background Information
1)Is there a person (or more than one person) who helps you to make important decisions, for example by helping you to understand information or speaking on your behalf to others?
Yes
No
If yes, how does this person(s) provide assistance?
As a family member or friend
On the basis of a legal document
If the person(s) has a legal document, what is it called?
Power of attorney for property
Power of attorney for personal care
Statutory guardianship
Court appointed guardian of property
Court appointed guardian of the person
Appointment by the Consent and Capacity Board
Other (please tell us what it is)
Don’t know
2)The person (or persons) who help me is my: (check all that apply)
Spouse (e.g., husband, wife, common-law partner)
Parent (e.g., mother, father, stepfather, stepmother, foster parent)
Adult child (including a step or foster child)
Brother or sister (including step or foster brothers or sisters)
Other relative (such as an aunt or uncle, cousin, niece or nephew)
Friend
Other (please tell us who)
This person or persons helps me with: (check all that apply)
Decisions about my health (such as medical treatments, dental care, physiotherapy and similar decisions)
Decisions about my money or property (such as banking, investments or daily spending)
Decisions about where to live (such as whether to move to long-term care or to stay in the community)
Personal decisions about issues such as education, employment, support services or daily activities)
3) Have you ever had your ability to make decisions assessed by a professional, such as a doctor or a “capacity assessor”?
Yes
No
How did this come about? What happened?
Your Experiences With Decision-making
4) If someone is helping with your decision-making, do you agree that you need that help?
Yes
No
5)Have you ever tried to challenge a decision that you needed help with decision-making?
Yes
No
If yes, how did you do that? What happened?
6)When someone started helping me with decision-making, I received an explanation of my rights under the law.
Yes
No
If yes, I received information from (check all that apply):
A lawyer
A community agency
A health professional, such as a doctor, nurse, occupational therapist or other professional The person helping me with decisions
A family member or friend A government official
Written materials or the internet
Other (please tell us who):
If you received information, was it helpful?
For the following statements, please tell us whether you agree or disagree that this is true for you.
7)I have a good understanding of my legal rights when someone is helping me with decision-making
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree Disagree
Strongly disagree
If you disagree, what do you need to help you understand your rights?
8)The person who is supposed to help with my decision-making provides the kind of help that I need.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree Disagree
Strongly disagree
What kind of help do you need with making decisions?
- The person who is supposed to help with my decision-making treats me with respect. Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree Disagree
Strongly disagree
If you would like to tell us more about the way that you are treated by the person who helps with your decision- making, please do so here.
10)The person who is supposed to help with my decision-making supports me to make my own decisions as much as possible and to be independent.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
If you would like to tell us more about the ways in which this person does or doesn’t help you to be independent and make the decisions that you can, please do so here.
11)I know where I could go for help if the person who is supposed to help with my decision-making was not following the law or treating me the way they should.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
If you would like to tell us more about where you could go for help if you were being abused or treated in a way that wasn’t right, please do so here.
The people who provide services to me, like banks or doctors, accept the person who helps me to make decisions and lets them help me the way that I need.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
If you have had difficulty with service providers because of your decision-making arrangements, you can tell us what happened here.
12) Did someone help you to fill out this form?
Yes
No
If yes, who helped you?
13) Please tell us anything else you’d like to about your experiences with making decisions and the law.
Some Information about You
The LCO would like to ask some questions about you. These will help us understand the different kinds of experiences that people have with decision-making laws, and to make sure that we are hearing from people with lots of different experiences. However, as with the remainder of the questionnaire, you do not have to answer