Estate Planning

Advancing the rights of older adults and developing an anti-ageist approach to law

By Hull and Hull LLP

The Law Commission of Ontario, the Canadian Centre for Elder Law and the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly hosted the 5th Canadian Conference on Elder Law on October 29 – 30, 2010.

The stated goal of this year's conference, which was held in Toronto, was to 'promote contribution and access to a knowledge base regarding legal issues affecting older adults, with a view to reducing vulnerability, social isolation, and abuse' with the overarching theme of the conference being to develop an anti-ageist approach to the law.

The speakers touched on a wide range of topics, including aging, access to justice, the role of law schools in responding to Canada's aging demographic, the challenges and opportunities of a shift to a rights-based approach to elder law and approaches to law reform that include older adults.

In light of the stated goal, several speakers opined that there should be direct consultation with stakeholders. Senior's Activist, Bea Levis, for example, stressed that laws, policies and programs must be informed by the lived experiences of older adults if we wish them to be both fair and effective. I couldn't agree more.

The Canadian Conference on Elder Law is one of the many ways that individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions are able to increase awareness regarding the issues facing older adults and develop strategies to advance the interests of this often vulnerable population.

If you are concerned about elder rights, there are several things you can do, one being to sign up for next year's conference. I hope to see you there.

Thanks for reading!
 

Kathryn Pilkington

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on November 03, 2010 (boomark / email).