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429Not
All in This Together: Disability Rights and COVID-19
cial review of a hospitalâs COVID-19 âno visitorâ policy challenged its
disproportionate impact on older residents incapable of making treat-
ment decisions.44 In SpragueÂ
v HerÂ
MajestyÂ
theÂ
QueenÂ
inÂ
RightÂ
ofÂ
Ontario,
the Ontario Court of Justice dismissed an application for judicial
review, alleging that the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario
violated the s. 15 equality rights of a 77-year-old man when it recom-
mended that hospitals adopt a âno visitorâ policy to stem the tide of
COVID-19. The Court held that there was in fact no statutory duty
for hospitals to provide unimpeded access by visitors to its premises.
The Court went on to conclude that there was no breach of the equal-
ity provision because the visitor policy was based on epidemiological
evidence intended to protect elderly patients.45 Jeff Preston, a disabled
academic, in testimony to the House of Commons Standing Committee
on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status
of Persons with Disabilities, emphasized how family members and
in-home caregivers need to be regarded, not as visitors, but as part of
a disabled personâs care team that can work in tandem with hospital
staff.46 Visitor restrictions particularly threaten the safety of residents
who require support persons to interpret or communicate with staff.47
This was poignantly illustrated by the tragic case of a 40-year-old non-
verbal British Columbia woman with cerebral palsy, Ariis Knight,
who died due to reasons unrelated to COVID-19 alone after her sup-
port workers were not permitted to accompany her in hospital. As the
Council of Canadians with Disabilities has demanded, such restric-
tive policies must end.48 The disability legal clinic ARCH has also cor-
veillance-tool>.
44. SpragueÂ
vÂ
HerÂ
MajestyÂ
theÂ
QueenÂ
inÂ
RightÂ
ofÂ
Ontario, 2020 ONSC 2335. See also BP v
SurreyÂ
CountyÂ
CouncilÂ
&Â
Anor, [2020] EWCOP 17, online: EnglandÂ
andÂ
WalesÂ
CourtÂ
of Protection Decisions <www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCOP/2020/17.html>.
45. Ibid at paras 32-38.
46. âCovid-19 and Disability in Canadaâ (5 May 2020), online: Jeff Preston <www.
jeffpreston.ca/2020/05/05/opening-remarks-to-huma-committee/>
47. Sean Boynton, âDisability Advocates Say B.C.âs Womanâs Death Shows Need for
Clearer COVID-19 Policyâ, Global News (26 April 2020), online: <globalnews.ca/
news/6869079/coronavirus-bc-disability-death-reaction/>.
48. Council of Canadians with Disabilities, âDisability Advocates Call for Immediate
Change to Hospital Policies Designating âEssentialâ Supports/Visitors Following the
Death of Ariis Knightâ (7 May 2020), posted on Council of Canadians with Disabilities,
online: Facebook <www.facebook.com/ccdonline/posts/1624724117687878?__
tn__=K-R>; The Canadian Press Staff, âCovid-19 Highlights Existing Barriers for
Canadians with Communication Disabilitiesâ, CTV News (7 May 2020), online:
<www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/covid-19-highlights-existing-barriers-for-
canadians-with-communication-disabilities-1.4929736>.
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Title
- VULNERABLE
- Subtitle
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Authors
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Publisher
- Ottawa Press
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Size
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Pages
- 648
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- International