On June 4, 2007, the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 (LTCHA) received Royal Assent. The LTCHA has not yet been proclaimed into force and cannot be proclaimed into force until all of the regulations necessary to carry out the Act are drafted, subject to the public consultation requirements set out in the LTCHA, and finalized.

Beginning on May 5, 2009 and for a 30 day period as outlined in the LTCHA, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care is inviting written comments on the first set of proposed initial draft regulations under the LTCHA. This first set addresses some of the regulations needed to proclaim the LTCHA. All written comments and submissions received during the comment period will be considered during final preparation of the draft regulation. The content, structure and form of the draft regulation are subject to change as a result of the comment process, at the discretion of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, who has the final decision on the content of any regulation. A second set of proposed initial draft regulations, on the balance of regulations needed to proclaim the LTCHA, will be posted for public consultation at a later date. Once all proposed regulations are finalized and the LTCHA is proclaimed into force, there would be one regulation under the LTCHA.

The text and a description of the initial draft regulation are available in English and French. These materials are available for download in PDF format below and are also available for review on the Regulatory Registry’s website at www.ontariocanada.com/registry/. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is asking all Long-Term Care homes to make a copy of this material available in their home and to provide a copy to both the Residents’ and Family Councils. All Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) offices will also have copies available for members of the public.