EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill enacts the Nancy Rose Act (Paediatric Hospice Palliative Care Strategy), 2021. The Act requires the Minister of Health to develop and implement a paediatric hospice palliative care strategy for Ontario. The goal of the strategy is to create equity of access to high quality paediatric hospice palliative care across Ontario.

The Act also establishes the Paediatric Hospice Palliative Care Advisory Committee, which is composed of health professionals and family members of children who have received hospice palliative care. The mandate of the Committee is to provide recommendations to the Minister on the development, implementation and effectiveness of the paediatric hospice palliative care strategy for Ontario.

Bill 31 2021

An Act to provide for the development of a provincial paediatric hospice palliative care strategy

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Paediatric hospice palliative care strategy

1 (1)  The Minister of Health shall develop and implement a paediatric hospice palliative care strategy for Ontario that is designed to improve access to and the quality of paediatric hospice palliative care in order to create equity of access to high quality paediatric hospice palliative care across Ontario.

Family supports

(2)  Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the strategy shall include the development of targeted supports for families of children receiving hospice palliative care, including mental health supports.

Timeline for development of strategy

(3)  On or before the anniversary of the day this Act receives Royal Assent, the Minister shall ensure that,

  (a)  a report is prepared that sets out the strategy; and

  (b)  the report is published on a website of the Government of Ontario.

Amendments

(4)  The Minister shall continually assess the effectiveness of the strategy in achieving equity of access to high quality paediatric hospice palliative care across Ontario and make any amendments to the strategy as necessary.

Same

(5)  If the strategy is amended, the Minister shall ensure that,

  (a)  a report setting out any amended strategy is prepared; and

  (b)  the report is published on a website of the Government of Ontario.

Paediatric Hospice Palliative Care Advisory Committee

2 (1)  A committee is established known in English as the “Paediatric Hospice Palliative Care Advisory Committee” and in French as “Comité consultatif des soins palliatifs pédiatriques”.

Mandate of the Committee

(2)  The Committee shall,

  (a)  provide recommendations to the Minister of Health on the development, implementation and effectiveness of the paediatric hospice palliative care strategy for Ontario; and

  (b)  on or before May 4 in each year, prepare an annual report setting out any recommendations made to the Minister over the course of the previous year and provide the report to the Minister.

Same

(3)  As part of its mandate, the Committee shall,

  (a)  review the recommendations set out in the report entitled “Report of the Paediatric Palliative Care Work Group” dated October 4, 2011; and

  (b)  adopt those recommendations set out in the report as the Committee considers appropriate, with or without modifications.

Report to be public

(4)  The Minister shall,

  (a)  ensure that each annual report of the Committee is published on a website of the Government of Ontario; and

  (b)  table the report in the Legislative Assembly as soon as possible after receiving it from the Committee.

Composition

(5)  The Committee shall be composed of no fewer than five and no more than nine members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Same

(6)  The following rules apply to the composition of the Committee:

   1.  A majority of the members of the Committee shall be regulated health professionals with particular expertise in paediatric hospice palliative care.

   2.  The remaining members of the Committee shall be family members of children who are receiving or who have received hospice palliative care.

   3.  The members shall include representation from London, Hamilton, Toronto, Kingston and Ottawa and such other geographic areas as may be prescribed by the regulations made under this Act.

Term

(7)  Members shall be appointed for a term of two years and are eligible for reappointment.

Regulations

3 The Minister of Health may make regulations respecting any matter necessary or advisable to carry out effectively the intent and purpose of this Act, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations,

  (a)  prescribing geographic regions for the purposes of paragraph 3 of subsection 2 (6);

  (b)  governing the procedures of the Paediatric Hospice Palliative Care Advisory Committee, including procedures for making recommendations to the Minister;

  (c)  prescribing the duties and responsibilities of members of the Committee.

Commencement

4 This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

5 The short title of this Act is the Nancy Rose Act (Paediatric Hospice Palliative Care Strategy), 2021.