{"id":1313,"date":"2025-11-07T19:59:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T19:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lco-cdo.thedev.ca\/?post_type=project&#038;p=1313"},"modified":"2026-03-07T19:36:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T19:36:19","slug":"last-stages-of-life","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/projects\/last-stages-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Stages of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Project Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Law Commission of Ontario\u2019s <em><a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/last-stages-of-life-final-report\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/last-stages-of-life-final-report\/\">Last Stages of Life: Final Report<\/a><\/em> examines how legal and policy frameworks in Ontario shape the rights, choices, and quality of life of people who are dying, as well as those who support and care for them. The term \u201clast stages of life\u201d is used to capture a broad range of legal issues related to palliative care, end-of-life care, and medical assistance in dying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Legal and policy approaches in Canada and Ontario have changed significantly in recent years. The LCO\u2019s report provides a blueprint for ensuring that the law keeps pace with these developments and continues to meet the needs of individuals, families, caregivers, and professionals involved in end-of-life care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Final Report should be read alongside the LCO\u2019s complementary report, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/last-stages-of-life-for-first-nation-metis-and-inuit-peoples-final-report\/\">Last Stages of Life for First Nation, M\u00e9tis and Inuit Peoples: Preliminary Recommendations for Law Reform (2023)<\/a><\/em>. That work was undertaken as a distinct process, with oversight from an Indigenous Engagement Advisory Committee, to support meaningful engagement with First Nation, M\u00e9tis, and Inuit communities in Ontario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Advisory Committee<\/summary>\n<p>The following people served on the Advisory Committee at different times:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nancy Cooper \u2013 Ontario Long Term Care Association<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Julie Darnay \u2013 Quality Hospice Palliative Care Coalition of Ontario &amp; Hospice Palliative Care Ontario<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Professor Michelle Giroux \u2013 University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dr. Doris Grinspun \u2013 Registered Nurses Association of Ontario<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mark Handelman \u2013 Whaley Estate Litigation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pia Hundal \u2013 Ontario Bar Association<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dr. Denise Marshall \u2013 Division of Palliative Care, McMaster University<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Imam Abdul Hai Patel \u2013 Ontario Multifaith Council<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wendy Porch \u2013 Centre for Independent Living in Toronto<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Frank Wagner<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Judith Wahl \u2013 Wahl Elder Law<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Professor Joan Gilmour \u2013 Osgoode Hall Law School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dena Maule \u2013 Ontario Caregiver Coalition<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dr. Jeff Myers \u2013 Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Palliative Care Consult Team<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sara van der Vliet \u2013 Health Boards Secretariat<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tara Walton \u2013 Ontario Palliative Care Network Secretariat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-1313_221f65-42\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\"\/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Recommendations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The report makes 56 law and policy reform recommendations across five interconnected areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Earlier Planning and Engagement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strengthen public health promotion and formal supports for advance care planning and goals-of-care discussions, encouraging earlier and more informed conversations about end-of-life choices (Recommendations 1\u201316).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Support for Care Providers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Improve workplace wellness supports for professionals and paraprofessionals who provide care during the last stages of life (Recommendations 17\u201322).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Flexible Supports for Families and Caregivers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expand and modernize leave and workplace provisions so families, friends, and community members can respond to the unpredictable and evolving nature of care needs (Recommendations 23\u201330).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Equitable Access to Care<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Address unmet needs among vulnerable communities, including people who are incarcerated, socially isolated individuals, children, and those considering medical assistance in dying (Recommendations 31\u201349).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Earlier Dispute Resolution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Improve access to rights-based information and mediation, and expedite formal legal proceedings related to end-of-life issues (Recommendations 50\u201356).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These recommendations are grounded in extensive province-wide consultations, including input from more than 850 participants across 74 sessions, nearly 600 pages of public submissions, seven commissioned expert reports, and guidance from an external expert Advisory Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-1313_b38ecc-83\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\"\/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--small)\">Related Project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li style=\"margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/projects\/last-stages-of-life-indigenous-engagement\/\">Last Stages of Life \u2013 Indigenous Engagement<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-1313_14f7cc-81\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\"\/><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2185,"template":"","project-taxonomy":[120],"project-status":[64],"class_list":["post-1313","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project-taxonomy-last-stages-of-life","project-status-completed"],"meta_box":{"project_taxonomy":{"term_id":120,"name":"Last Stages of Life","slug":"last-stages-of-life","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":120,"taxonomy":"project-taxonomy","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},"project_status":{"term_id":64,"name":"Completed","slug":"completed","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":64,"taxonomy":"project-status","description":"","parent":0,"count":19,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},"year_completed":"2021","project_summary":"","project_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/1313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/project"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"project-taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project-taxonomy?post=1313"},{"taxonomy":"project-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project-status?post=1313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}