The Minister of Health must develop a palliative care framework, consult provincial and territorial health representatives and palliative care providers, and report to Parliament on the framework and later on the state of palliative care.
An Act providing for the development of a framework on palliative care in Canada Preamble Whereas the Final Report of the External Panel on Options for a Legislative Response to Carter v. Canada emphasizes the importance of palliative care in the context of physician-assisted dying; Whereas the Final Report stated that a request for physician-assisted death cannot be truly voluntary if the option of proper palliative care is not available to alleviate a person’s suffering; And whereas the Parliament of Canada recognizes the importance of ensuring that all Canadians have access to high-quality palliative care, especially in the context of physician-assisted death; Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: Short title This Act may be cited as the Framework on Palliative Care in Canada Act. Development and implementation The Minister of Health must, in consultation with the representatives of the provincial and territorial governments responsible for health, as well as with palliative care providers, develop a framework designed to support improved access for Canadians to palliative care — provided through hospitals, home care, long-term care facilities and residential hospices — that, among other things, defines what palliative care is; identifies the palliative care training and education needs of health care providers as well as other caregivers; identifies measures to support palliative care providers; promotes research and the collection of data on palliative care; identifies measures to facilitate a consistent access to palliative care across Canada; takes into consideration existing palliative care frameworks, strategies and best practices; and evaluates the advisability of re-establishing the Department of Health’s Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life Care. Conference The Minister must initiate the consultations referred to in subsection (1) within six months after the day on which this Act comes into force. Report to Parliament The Minister of Health must prepare a report setting out the framework on palliative care and cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament within one year after the day on which this Act comes into force. Publication of report The Minister must post the report on the departmental Web site within 10 days after the day on which the report is tabled in Parliament. Review and report Within five years after the day on which the report referred to in section 3 is tabled in Parliament, the Minister of Health must prepare a report on the state of palliative care in Canada, and cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the report is completed.