It is a partial win for Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky and her efforts to close a gap in the healthcare system for the terminally ill returning to Ontario to die.
Gretzky says the Liberal government has decided to make regulatory changes so those facing the end of their life will not have to wait three months for OHIP coverage for hospice and at-home care. She had been hoping her private members' bill, Dan's Law would pass final vote in the legislature and become law.
While it is better than nothing, Gretzky says any future government could withdraw the regulatory change with the stroke of a pen.
"Regulation is really at the whim of whichever government of the day is in, so any government can change it," she says. "With legislation, that is much harder to undo or change."
Even with days remaining before the Liberals are expected to end the session and drop the writ for a June 7 vote, Gretzky is hopeful the Liberals will change their mind and make it law.
"There is an opportunity for the Liberals to call it at committee, or they could ask for unanimous consent from all parties to just pass the legislation and make it become law," she says pointing out both times Dan's Law was introduced in the legislature it passed with all-party support before going to committee.
Hospice of Windsor and Essex County Inc. on Empress St. in Windsor, June 7, 2017. (Photo by Maureen Revait)
Gretzky first introduced it in November 2016. It died on the order paper in March when Premier Kathleen Wynne prorogued the legislature. Last month, Gretzky re-introduced it.
If the government does not ask for all party consent, it could be the fall before the regulation goes into effect.
"The posting is up until June 18 and I was told by the parliamentary assistant to the minister of health that it could be as long as September before the regulatory change actually comes into effect," she says.
Dan's Law is named for Dan Duma, a Windsor man who was working in Alberta when he found out he had terminal liver cancer. He returned home to spend the rest of his life with family in Windsor but was unable to access OHIP coverage for care at home.
