Advocacy groups won't appeal Ontario court's dismissal of Charter challenge to long-term care law

Jennifer La Grassa · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 13, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Advocacy organizations won't entreaty an Ontario court's decision to disregard their Charter situation of the province's semipermanent attraction (LTC) law, which allows hospitals to determination radical into homes they didn't choose or beryllium charged $400 a time to stay in hospital.

The case, launched by the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE) and the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), was heard successful the Superior Court of Justice successful September. 

The 2 parties argued Bill 7, the More Beds, Better Care Act, — which was passed successful 2022 — violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms truthful the instrumentality should beryllium overturned. The provincial government, however, maintains the law is necessary to escaped up much-needed infirmary beds.

In mid-January, the tribunal sided with the state and decided to disregard the case. 

In an interrogation with CBC News connected Wednesday, Ontario Health Coalition enforcement manager Natalie Mehra said OHC can't spend the ineligible costs to appeal.

The OHC is paying the bulk of ineligible fees successful this case, of "close to $200,000," according to Mehra. She said they're inactive fundraising to wage it off. 

She besides said an entreaty is ever challenging to win. 

"It's precise disappointing and truly heartbreaking," Mehra said. 

"We cognize that patients truly are suffering arsenic a effect of the coercion, trying to find determination to determination from infirmary into a semipermanent attraction location that is simply a decent home, that provides the attraction that they need, that is adjacent to loved ones."

In the published determination from January, Justice Robert Centa said the instrumentality doesn't contravene the Charter. The bill "does not interfere with an ALC [alternate level of care] patient's 'right' to take wherever they live," and the $400 daily charge for a continued infirmary stay is "not coercive," Centa wrote. 

Instead, Bill 7 has a "sufficiently important objective," the justness added. 

"I recovered that the intent of Bill 7 is to trim the fig of ALC patients successful infirmary who are eligible for admittance to a semipermanent attraction location successful bid to maximize infirmary resources for patients who request hospital-level care." 

Mehra said ACE and the OHC were "shocked" by the ruling, particularly the thought that a $400 regular complaint isn't coercive. 

"These are aged patients, they're connected fixed incomes, $400 a time is $12,000 a month — that is beyond the means of the immense bulk of radical successful Ontario. It really means that they don't person a prime successful our view." 

An Ontario diligent charged $26K nether legislation

Since the instrumentality was implemented successful 2022, CBC News has spoken with radical who were impacted, including Michele Campeau, whose aged ma was charged $26,000 nether the authorities past year. Campeau had refused to determination her ma retired of a Windsor infirmary and into a semipermanent attraction location the household didn't want. 

CBC News reached retired this week to Campeau for comment, but hasn't heard back. When she past spoke to CBC News successful January, Campeau said she wasn't readying to pay the interest and didn't hold with the tribunal ruling. 

Patients, their caregivers and seniors advocates person said the instrumentality is unfair and doesn't springiness aged people, who mightiness beryllium successful their last signifier of life, the close to take wherever they privation to live. 

But health-care leaders who provided expert evidence during the tribunal case have said the law helps escaped up infirmary beds for radical who request them. 

A spokesperson for Ontario's curate of wellness antecedently told CBC News the instrumentality "ensures radical crossed the state person the attraction they need, successful a mounting that is close for them." 

"It frees up infirmary beds truthful that radical waiting for surgeries tin get them sooner. It eases pressures connected crowded exigency departments by admitting patients sooner and it connects much radical to the attraction they request erstwhile they request it." 

'Ramp up our fight' 

Despite the OHC's decision, Mehra said they're not giving up. 

She said they volition proceed to advocator for patients and "ramp up our fight" to get the province to prioritize the rights of aged patients. 

Beyond overturning the law, she said, they'll advocator for the government to amended location care, increase capableness successful hospitals and LTC homes, and determination guardant with gathering caller and modern homes that radical privation to unrecorded in. 

"The information that the solution has been to people patients alternatively than to woody with the capableness issues successful our wellness strategy ... it's wrong, it's morally wrong, to dainty radical astatine the extremity of their lives successful that way," she said. 

"We person to combat with everything we person to unit governmental change."