This week, we’re speaking with Jess Szabo about all things related to public health law: MAID and mental illness; forced transfers to long-term care homes; and private actors in the public healthcare system. This program contains 30 minutes of substantive content for the Law Society of Ontario’s CPD requirements.
Full Episode (57:12) Download Transcript
⚫ How will the federal government decide whether persons suffering “only” from a mental illness will have access to medical assistance in dying? (9:38)
⚫ What is the role of consent within a new Ontario bill that would allow patients to be transferred from nursing homes? (20:33)
⚫ Do recent permissions for private sector bodies open the door for the privatization of public healthcare? (31:24)
⚫ Our Ask-Me-Anything segment, featuring questions submitted by patrons of the Lawyered community (39:14)
? How do you envision the partnership between government and business in unleashing the potential of Canada’s citizens? (37:22)
?What are your thoughts on how the government provides care services for those impacted by the opioid crisis? (40:03)
? What sorts of protections are currently in place to protect patients’ health care data? (43:59)
? What is the legal basis for Nurse Practitioners providing access to primary care services in private medical clinics? (46:22)
? What changes or trends do you anticipate we will see (or are seeing) regarding the future of public health in Canada? (49:20)
1. Mental Illness and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) (13:50) Download
– Bill C-39, An Act to amend An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)
– Legislative Background: Medical Assistance in Dying (Bill C-14)
2. Bill 7 – Transitioning Patients from Hospitals to Long-Term Care (13:58) Download
– Bill 7, More Beds, Better Care Act, 2022
– “Ontario could face Charter challenge over law forcing some elderly hospital patients into nursing homes” (Canadian Press – Nov 21, 2022)
3. Private Actors in the Healthcare Space (10:57) Download
– Bill 60, Your Health Act, 2023
– “Ontario passes health-reform bill that expands private delivery of care” (Canadian Press – May 8, 2023)
– Cambie Surgeries Corporation v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2022 BCCA 245
4. Ask-Me-Anything: Public Health Law (17:46) Download
?What are your thoughts on the means by which the government provides care services for those impacted by the opioid crisis?
? What sorts of protections are currently in place to protect patients’ health care data?
? What is the legal basis for Nurse Practitioners providing access to primary care services in private medical clinics?
? What changes or trends do you anticipate we will see (or are seeing) regarding the future of public health in Canada?
About the Guest:
Jessica Szabo is a health law lawyer, practising at McIntyre Szabo, a boutique firm that she co-founded with a former colleague.
Prior to this, Jessica worked as Legal Counsel at Ontario Health, advising on a wide variety of corporate, policy and risk matters including digital, research, privacy, mental health and clinical issues. She has also worked in private practice at Borden Ladner Gervais and in-house at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. In law school, Jessica specialised in Human Rights Law and International Criminal Law. After graduating law school, Jessica worked at the International Criminal Court as a legal consultant on the successful appeal of Mr. Jean Pierre Bemba’s convictions.
Prior to law school, Jessica worked with female offenders detained in a secure forensic hospital in England while completing her Masters (MSc) in Forensic Mental Health. Jessica then worked with hospitals in England to improve outcomes and promote better-integrated care for people with mental health needs.
Jessica’s Full Bio
Jessica’s Email Address