Protecting seniors in care an urgent matter for NDP

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/12/2023 (683 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former Manitoba justice minister Kelvin Goertzen in July described abuse against seniors in care — which for years has occurred under the radar and gone unpunished — as “sickening and repulsive.”

He and the former Tory government vowed to change the law to ensure those who commit physical, sexual and psychological abuse are held accountable.

“There are few things more important in society than protecting vulnerable persons,” Goertzen said at the time.

However, more than six months after a bill to amend the Protection of Persons in Care Act was passed by the legislative assembly to fix a legal glitch that protected abusers, the most crucial part of the changes still hasn’t been enacted into law.

It’s now up to the new NDP government to do it.

A Manitoba auditor general investigation released earlier this year found widespread physical abuse against elderly people in care has been going on for years. The abuse included residents being sexually assaulted, kicked in the shin, hit in the face, pinned down and verbally abused. In many of those cases, the allegations were deemed “unfounded.” Most cases were not even fully investigated.

That’s because under existing legislation, the behaviour has to cause death or psychological harm to be considered abuse. If an investigation into a case of physical or other abuse doesn’t show it caused psychological harm (which is, at best, problematic to define), the abuse is deemed “unfounded.”

That means someone can repeatedly slap a senior in the face, kick them or physically abuse them in some way and the abuse will be deemed “unfounded” unless an investigator can prove the victim suffered psychological harm. There are documented cases of supervisors changing the findings of investigations at some care homes from “founded” to “unfounded” because the threshold of psychological harm was not met.

It’s a ludicrous piece of legislation. The fact it’s been on the books this long is mind-boggling. Governments have known about this for years, including the previous NDP government (prior to 2016) and failed to act on it– until recently.

It’s a ludicrous piece of legislation. The fact it’s been on the books this long is mind-boggling. Governments have known about this for years, including the previous NDP government (prior to 2016) and failed to act on it — until recently.

Bill 23, the proposed legislation that amends the Protection of Persons in Care Act to fix this, was passed on May 30. Most of it was proclaimed into law upon royal assent. But the section of the bill that changes the definition of abuse and neglect must be proclaimed by cabinet to take effect. That has still not occurred. Worse, there’s no definitive timeline on when it will come into force.

The excuse for the delay given by the former Tory government in September, prior to the Oct. 3 provincial election, is that regulations had to be changed to ensure they aligned with the legislative amendments.

So change them. Get it done. There’s no reason for it to take this long. In fact, the department should have been drafting new regulations before the bill was introduced to ensure the matter was given the urgency it deserves.

Sadly, like most things when it comes to seniors abuse — whether in personal-care homes or other facilities — governments drag their feet on it. For whatever reason, there doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency around protecting seniors in care. Despite the rhetoric by politicians, it’s rarely a priority.

Under Sec. 79 of the new legislation, the definition of abuse will be changed and expanded to include “physical force resulting in pain, discomfort or injury, including slapping, hitting, beating, rough handling, tying up or binding.” It will also include “the intentional causing of emotional or psychological harm, including through threats, intimidation, humiliation, harassment, coercion or restriction from appropriate social contact,” as well as “sexual contact, activity or behaviour between a patient and an individual in a position of trust or authority” and “non-consensual sexual contact.”

The abuse will not have to cause “psychological harm” to be considered abuse as it does under existing legislation.

But it’s still not law because that section has not been proclaimed. Which means the abuse could be happening today and there is no legal mechanism to address it.

No doubt a provincial election and a change in government has caused delays in writing the new regulations and proclaiming the full act. Still, those changes should have been made before Oct. 3. Given the urgency of protecting seniors in care, this should have been done by now.

In a statement, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said the NDP government is “working with experts” to ensure they get the changes “right.”

“We’re committed to making sure the protections for vulnerable adults outlined in Bill 23 are in place quickly, and will have an update for Manitobans soon,” she said.

But no timeline.

This is not a partisan issue. It’s something the province should act on quickly, no matter who is in government. The new NDP government has its hands full and cannot be expected to do everything right away. But it should make this a priority. Seniors deserve the full protection of the law. Right now, they’re not getting it.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca