A.    Introduction

Among the most significant issues raised in the LCO’s preliminary consultations for this project are those related to newly developing approaches to decision-making, such as supported and co-decision-making. These approaches represent a fundamental shift in approaches to the law, and have significant implications for almost every aspect of this area of the law. Advocates for these forms of decision-making would like to see one or both of them included in Ontario’s laws, whether as one option among a number, as a preferential option, or as replacing substitute decision-making altogether.

This chapter will examine the basic elements of supported and co-decision-making approaches, drawing some comparisons with substitute decision-making; outline some specific models for these forms of decision-making; and consider some implications and implementation challenges.

These newer approaches to decision-making are closely related to the shifts in conceptions of capacity that were outlined in Part Two, Chapter I, and have their basis in a social model of disability and human rights critique of existing approaches to legal capacity, decision-making and guardianship.

The various approaches to decision-making are based in differing assumptions and experiences about the nature of decision-making, the role of law, the characteristics of intimate relationships, and the nature of disability and aging. Those who spend much time on issues related to disability, aging and legal capacity tend to share a strong commitment to the principles of dignity, autonomy, inclusion and participation, and the right to be free from exploitation and abuse. However, in practice there may be profound differences in how these principles are understood and on the best way to achieve them.       

Some of these differences in approach are rooted in the divergences in experience and circumstance among those affected by the law of legal capacity, decision-making and guardianship. The needs and aspirations of a young adult with an intellectual disability in this area will be very different from those of a widow who is living with mid-stage Alzheimer’s Disease and residing in a long-term care home, and these will differ again from those of a person who has been living for a number of years with a severe and recurring mental health disability that has significantly affected his or her social and economic resources. The nature of an impairment, the life stage at which it occurs and the point in the life course at which resort must be made to legal capacity and decision-making laws will have very significant implications for the extent and nature of a person’s relationships, the financial resources available (and the resultant temptations to abuse), and the nature and availability of appropriate supports and resources. All of these will in turn have significant implications for the way in which individuals will encounter the laws in this area. It is essential, then, that thoughtful and respectful attention be paid to these differences in perspective and experience in considering approaches in decision-making, and that the possibility be explored that one size may not, in fact, fit all those who fall under these laws.

It is also very important to take into account the grounded experience of those who provide daily supports to those whose disabilities may have affected their ability to access, retain, assess and communicate information. While laws play a fundamental role in expressing and shaping values and norms, those who are providing decision-making supports of various kinds are not likely to have an in-depth awareness of the legislation or to regularly resort to it in resolving their practical challenges. Often, they will be guided by their own values and set of ethics, the practicalities of the situation, the skills they have and the nature of their relationships,. And of course, their own contexts will shape how they understand and carry out these roles: their cultures, their socio-economic status, the family and social supports they themselves have, the resources available in the communities in which they lives, and many other factors. Many family and friends who are acting under a power of attorney or as a guardian will in practice be carrying out their role in a way that looks very like what is envisioned by advocates of supported decision-making; equally, those acting as supporters may at times find themselves performing their roles in ways that functionally differ very little from those of substitutes. In considering particular law reforms, a key consideration should be the practical impact on the lives of persons who lack legal capacity and those surrounding them.

Finally, Part One, Chapter I of this Paper included a brief discussion of the multiple aspects of decision-making. Decision-making includes both processes and outcomes, and both a public and a private aspect. In theory, an ideal approach to decision-making would maximize all of these aspects; in practice, they are not always so easily reconciled. Different approaches to decision-making will balance and prioritize these aspects differently.

These new forms of decision-making are still evolving. Terminology varies, sometimes widely: multiple terms are often used to describe the same concept and conversely, the same terms are frequently used to refer to approaches that have very different practical implications. There are ongoing conceptual and philosophical debates. The role of the LCO is to develop practical, implementable and forward-looking proposals for law reform in this particular context, in light of the principles and considerations in the Frameworks. The purpose of this Chapter is not to exhaustively explore the concepts of supported and co-decision-making and the philosophy underlying them, but to consider potential practical implications for reform to Ontario’s law, a law which is grounded in a particular history and which operates in the context of a specific set of institutions, resources and constraints.

As a starting point for the discussion of alternative approaches, this Chapter will discuss the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) related to approaches to decision-making, and then will briefly outline the key aspects of Ontario’s current substitute decision-making approach, prior to more in-depth examinations of supported and co-decision-making.

 

B.    The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Central to this discussion is the CRPD which Canada has ratified, and in particular Article 12, which has been reproduced and discussed in Part One, Chapters I and Part Two, Chapter I. Article 12 requires States Parties to:

  • Recognize persons with disabilities as persons before the law;
  • Recognize that persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life;
  • Take appropriate measures to provide access for persons with disabilities to the supports they may require in exercising their legal capacity;
  • Ensure that all mea