Nova Scotia is moving to give people with intellectual disabilities more autonomy.
Justice Minister Mark Furey says the proposed Adult Capacity and Decision Making Act would recognize a person’s right to live their own life and make their own decisions, except in instances where that isn’t possible because of a court-proven impairment of capacity.
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It replaces the former Incompetent Persons Act, which Furey says was an “all or nothing” approach that gave complete control to a guardian for all aspects of a person’s decision-making.
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In June 2016 the Nova Scotia Supreme Court gave the province until the end of this year to enact a new law to conform with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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It also overturned the “mentally incompetent” status of Landon Webb, who had fought a legal battle over the act, which he maintained infringed on his rights and freedoms.
He gained national attention after he left a rehabilitation centre in October 2015 and wasn’t heard from until several weeks later when police located him in Edmonton.
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