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?

  1. 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 these questions if you do not want to.

 

14) What is your age?

Under age 25

Age 25 – 44

Age 45 – 64

Age 65 – 84

Age 85 or older

 

15) Are you a person with a disability or disabilities?

Yes

No

Please identify your disability or disabilities:

 

16) What is your gender?

 

17) How would you describe your race or ethnicity?

 

18) Do you identify as an Aboriginal person? If so, with which Aboriginal nation(s) or community(ies) do you identify?

 

19) What language do you mostly speak at home?

 

20) How do you self-identify in terms of your sexual orientation?

 

21) With whom do you live? Please check all that apply:

On my own

With my parents

With a spouse or partner

With my children

With extended family

In a group setting (e.g., a retirement home, a group home)

Other (please tell us where)

 

Do you live with the person or people who help you with making decisions?

Yes

No

If no, how far away does the person or people helping you live?

22) Have you been living in Canada for less than 10 years?

Yes

No

 

Your Contact Information

Would you like to be added to our mailing list for this project, so we can send you information about other consultations or future reports and recommendations?

Yes, please add me to your mailing list

No, please do not contact me

If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please give us your contact information:

Name:

Address:

E-mail address:

Telephone number (optional):

Consultation questionnaire for families, friends, supporters and substitute decision-makers

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 in providing assistance with decision-making.

Understanding your experiences is important for us to make good recommendations for changes to the law.

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 form on our website, here: http://lco-cdo.org/en/capacity-guardianship-consultation-questionnaire- form-supporters [Questionnaire no longer available]
  • or 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.

Background Information

1)Do you assist another adult with making decisions?

Yes

No

If yes, how do you provide assistance? As a family member or a friend On the basis of a legal document

If you have a legal document, what is it called? (if more than one, check all that apply)

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 I assist with decisions is my:

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)

 

3) What types of decisions do you assist this person with?

Decisions related to health (such as medical treatments, dental care, physiotherapy and similar issues)

Decisions related to money or property (such as banking, investments or daily expenditures)

Decisions about where to live (such as whether to move to long-term care or to remain in the community)

Personal decisions (such as decisions about education, employment or daily activities)

 

4)Are you the sole person assisting with decision-making, or are you acting with one or more other individuals? Acting on my own

Acting with others

 

If you are acting with others, are you required to do so by a legal document?

Yes

No

If you are acting with others, how are those others related to the person being assisted and to you?

If you are acting with others, how far do you live from the other person(s) who assist with decision-making?

Your Experiences With Decision-making

5)Were you the person who decided that the assistance with decision-making was needed (for example, that the power of attorney should be used, or that an application for guardianship should be made)?

Yes

No

If yes, what made you decide that?

If not, who did decide?

How was the individual whom you are helping involved in this process?

6) Did a lawyer help you with this process?

Yes

No

How easy or difficult did you find this process? If it was difficult, what would have made it easier?

7) How would you describe your decision-making role? For example, what do you for the person you are assisting?

How are decisions made? If there are disagreements between you and the person you assist, how are they resolved?

Please include any information that would help us in understanding your role.

8) If you are acting together with one or more other persons to assist with decisions, how do you work together? If there are disagreements, how are they resolved?

9) Have service providers, such as financial institutions or health care providers, accepted your role in assisting with decisions?

Yes

No

If you would like to tell us more about your experiences with service providers, please do so here.

For the following statements, please tell us whether you agree or disagree that this is true for you.

10) I received an explanation of my roles and responsibilities under the law when I began providing decision- making assistan

Yes

No

If yes, I received information from:

A lawyer

A community agency

A health professional, such as a doctor, nurse, occupational therapist or other professional

A family member or friend

A government official

Written materials or the internet Other (please tell us who):

I have a good understanding of my legal role and responsibilities as someone who is providing assistance with decision-making needs.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

If you would like to tell us more about the information you received or how you received it, please do so here.

11) I have the supports I need to fulfil my decision-making role

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree Disagree

Strongly disagree

If you would like to tell us what supports you receive, if any, and what supports you would find helpful, if any, please do so here.

12)I believe that the person that I am assisting has a good understanding of their rights under the law, including an understanding of my role.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree Disagree

Strongly disagree

Would you like to tell us more about how this person was informed about their rights?

13) I think the law as it exists now does a good job of making sure that people like me carry out our decision- making responsibilities in the right

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree Disagree

Strongly disagree

If you disagree, what could be improved? If you agree, why do you agree?

14) Please tell us anything else that you would like to about your experiences with decision-making 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 many different experiences. However, as with the remainder of the questionnaire, you do not have to answer these questions if you do not want to.

1)What is your age?

Under age 25

Age 25 – 44

Age 45 – 64

Age 65 – 84

Age 85 or older

 

16) Are you a person with a disability or disabilities?

Yes

No

Please identify your disability or disabilities:

17) What is your gender?

18) How would you describe your race or ethnicity?

19) Do you identify as an Aboriginal person? If so, with which Aboriginal nation(s) or community(ies) do you identify?

20) What is the primary language of the person you help?

21) How do you self-identify with respect to your sexual orientation?

22) What is the highest level of education that you have attained?

Some high school

High school diploma

Some college or university

College or university diploma

Graduate or professional schooling

 

23) With whom do you live? Please check all that apply:

On my own

With my parents

With a spouse or partner

With my children

With extended family

In a group setting (e.g., a retirement home, a group home) Other (please tell us where)

Do you live with the person you help?

Yes

No

If no, how far away from that person do you live?

 

24) Have you been living in Canada for less than 10 years?

Yes

No

Your Contact Information

Would you like to be added to our mailing list for this project, so we can send you information about other consultations or future reports and recommendations?

Yes, please add me to your mailing list

No, please do not contact me

 

If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please provide us with your contact information, depending on how you prefer to be contacted:

Name:

Address:

E-mail address:

Telephone Number (optional):