Seeking Systemic Change in Home Care and Senior Housing

Seeking Systemic Change

Seniors Advocate

The Office of the Seniors Advocate was created in 2014 under the authority of the Seniors Advocate Act and is mandated to advocate and improve the well-being of seniors in BC in the areas of healthcare, personal care, housing, transportation, and income support. The Seniors Advocate gathers and analyzes information about services related to these areas, reports to government and service providers, and makes recommendations that will create systemic improvements to services and the overall well-being of seniors in BC.

The office operates an information and referral line at 1-877-952-3181 (toll free) or 250-952-3181 with translation services. They will assist by providing referrals to government and community services and guidance on navigating the health care system, but they do not take on advocacy on an individual basis. They do accept suggestions on how to improve senior services.

The Seniors Advocate office produces an annual report called Monitoring Seniors Services, which highlights five year data trends on a wide range of support and services for BC seniors. It also publishes the Long-Term Care and Assisted Living Directory, an online directory that provides information about publicly funded assisted living residences and care facilities.

BC Office of the Ombudsperson

The BC Ombudsperson is an independent officer appointed to ensure that every person in BC is treated fairly when using public services. The Ombudsperson is responsible for advising government on systemic causes of unfairness and for recommending changes to practices, policies and legislation that contribute to recurring unfairness.(1)

The Office investigates complaints from individuals who believe they have been unfairly treated by local or provincial public services, such as hospitals, health authorities, Crown Corporations such as the Public Guardian and Trustee, and organizational bodies that regulate professionals such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons. However, some organizations fall outside its mandate. For example, it does not investigate the conduct of individual professionals such as physicians, nurses, and health care assistants.(2) For details about whether a service you are concerned about falls within the Ombudsperson’s mandate, visit the BC Ombudsperson website.(3)

The office also has Ombudsperson Pathfinders who will listen to the issues experienced by First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous people across the province. Pathfinders connect with communities to increase awareness of the Ombudsperson’s services and explain how the Ombudsperson can help identify the best avenues to remedy unfairness.(4)

The Ombudsperson’s Office investigates complaints and makes recommendations to public services to remedy unfair practices.

Human Rights Tribunal

While the Residents’ Bill of Rights provides a framework for protecting equal rights for residents of assisted living, long-term care, and extended care, it is not the only recourse for residents with a complaint of rights violation or discrimination.

In Canada, issues of discrimination are largely addressed through human rights laws. Discrimination means being treated poorly, including being denied a service or opportunity, or having a negative decision made about you, based on a protected characteristic. Protected grounds include Indigenous identity, race, gender, ability, age, or religion.(5) Discrimination is commonly understood as racism, sexism, etc., and includes micro-aggressions. The goal of human rights processes is to repair harm, so the focus is on what happened and how it impacted the complainant, rather than whether the person or organization who discriminated intended to cause harm.

If a resident or person receiving care believes they are being denied services (or given inferior service) due to discrimination, they can make a complaint to the BC Human Rights Tribunal. The process of making a human rights complaint is meant to be accessible by people without lawyers, but it can still feel complicated or overwhelming. There are many resources to assist people in BC with making human rights complaints, including the CLAS Human Rights Clinic.(6)

References

1. Ombudsperson Act, RSBC 1996, c 340, s 2, online: <canlii.ca/t/848h>.
2. Ombudsperson Act, RSBC 1996, c 340, ss 10-12, Schedule, online: <canlii.ca/t/848h>.
3. Ombudsperson British Columbia, “Complaint Checker” (last visited 30 August 2023), online:<bcombudsperson.ca/jurisdictional-and-non-jurisdictional-authority-list>.
4. Ombudsperson British Columbia, ”Services for Indigenous People”, online: <bcombudsperson.ca/about-us/our-indigenous-services>.
5. Human Rights Code, RSBC 1996, c 210, s 8, online: <canlii.ca/t/843q>.
6. Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS), “Human Rights Complaints” (last visited 30 August 2023), online:<clasbc.net/get-legal-help/human-rights-complaints/>; British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, (last visited 30 August 2023), online <bchrt.bc.ca>.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Seniors First BC, February 2024.

(1) A lawyer or a person other than a lawyer who helps clients with legal issues, or (2) to argue a position on behalf of someone.

An act; a statute; a written law made by a government. See "regulations."

In law, (1) the federal and provincial governments and their departments and agencies, or (2) lawyers employed by the federal and provincial governments to prosecute criminal offences.

In law, (1) a judge's conclusions after hearing argument and considering the evidence presented at a trial or an application, (2) a judgment, or (3) the judge's reasons. A judge's written or oral decision will include the judge's conclusions about the relief or remedies claimed as well as their findings of fact and conclusions of law. A written decision is called the judge’s "reasons for judgment." See "common law," "conclusions of law" and "findings of fact."

In law, to formally deliver documents to a person in a manner that complies with the rules of court. Service may be ordinary (mailed or delivered to a litigant's address for service), personal (hand-delivered to a person), or substituted (performed in a way other than the rules normally require). See "address for delivery," "ordinary service," "personal service" and "substituted service."