2.3.5 Key Legislation
Canada has enacted several protections for citizens to require that all are treated with dignity and respect when receiving care. It is important that you understand what is involved in each of these acts.
Canada Health Act
The Canada Health Act declares that the primary objective of Canadian health care policy is to protect, promote and restore the physical and mental well-being of residents of Canada through a public health care system, and asserts five commanding principles to ensure access to health care services is guaranteed to all without financial or other barriers. Those five principles are
- accessibility,
- universality,
- portability,
- comprehensiveness, and
- public administration and funding.
Key Takeaway
This infographic does a great job of summarizing the key points of the Canada Health Act. Please be sure to review it.
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
Recognizing the history of discrimination against persons with disabilities in Ontario, the purpose of the AODA is to benefit society by
- developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for people with disabilities, and
- providing for the involvement of persons with disabilities, of the Government of Ontario and of representatives of industries and of various sectors of the economy in the development of the accessibility standards.
