Instrument of protection or Instrument of abuse

The Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act violates all citizenship rights, human rights and charter rights. The proclamation of this Act will open the floodgates of the financial abuse of thousands of Alberta citizens and human rights abuses on an unprecedented scale.

The Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act is parallel to the Sexual Sterilization Act of 1928 – 1972. Then it was the academia who determined who should have their organs removed. Today it is the academia who determines who should be stripped of all rights and personhood.

Some of the more virulent legislative abuses contained within the Act, are as follows:

Section 26(3) A capacity assessment must always accompany a Guardianship Application.

Section 103 The court has the ability to compel a senior to undergo a capacity assessment and permits the assessor “to enter the adult’s residence” for the assessment. You will no longer be safe in your own home from those who would strip you of your rights. The Act gives the legal right to violate the privacy & safety of your domicile. In the 90’s, the court ordered that M.M., an 84 year old, 80 lb. senior was to be assessed. When the Psychologist arrived at her home, she strongly instructed him to leave, get off her steps, out of her yard and called after him that she did not need a doctor. He left.

If this Act proceeds, seniors will be in contempt of court if they do not give entrance to an assessor. Police may be called to enforce the court order. This legislation is designed to disarm seniors of their right to protect themselves and their property.

Section 104 The Court may determine your competency, without an assessment, in your absence, no matter where you may be, even if you are out of country.

Section 26(1) Any interested “person” can apply for guardianship in respect of any resident of Alberta. No senior citizen in Alberta can safely assume that they will be able to enjoy their retirement and the fruits of their labors in peace and dignity.

Section 17. You may opt out of a co-decision Order, BUT the “withdrawal” must be filed at the court which automatically brings in the Public Guardian to take over. From the frying pan into the fire, there is no opting out.

Section 26(5). If they conclude that it is in your best interests not be notified, you won’t know that you have been placed under Guardianship. The same senior mentioned earlier, had not been informed/ served that she had been placed under guardianship. She went to her bank as she had done for decades in order to withdraw money to pay her monthly bills. The bank clerk informed her that she could not give her any money. The senior fainted. Denying seniors their own money is bullying of the worst kind.

Section 74(2) The Act allows ex parte Applications by the Public Guardian.

Section 40(1). A senior can apply to the courts for a review of the order. This is an empty remedy! There is no guarantee of right to counsel. The Senior who has been stripped of all rights has no access to his/her money, how can he/she retain a lawyer to go to court?

Furthermore, the senior may be denied a lawyer by those who are detaining him/her, the guardian or agent, etc.

In one situation, the son who had been named the Agent, called the police & the police called the lawyer because his father a, dependent senior was seeking help at a lawyer’s office. The son and siblings denied their multimillionaire father access to counsel. In regard to the same senior, the professional staff at the assisted living facility removed a well known professional lawyer from the premises, unceremoniously, thus he could not meet with the senior.

Rapists, pedophiles, thieves at least get minimum legal protection as enshrined in the Constitution of Canada, but the Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act does not afford such legislative protection.

Section 38(2) The Guardian may call in the police to enforce a court Order.

Section 112(2) The Court may limit access or close court hearings to the general public, media or advocates thus deny the senior a fair court hearing.

Section 63. Once under trusteeship, you will not be allowed to examine your books to see how your hard earned money is being spent (or stolen). Only the Court may examine your financial records.

Section 67(1) With a court Order, the Trustee can disregard your last wishes, will and testament and liquidate property that has been specifically named & bequeathed in your will.

Section 76(2)The Act provides no safeguards or ethical appeal mechanisms. The Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act gives extraordinary, draconian powers to the Office of the Public Guardian, the Office of the Public Trustee and the courts.

Section 75 The complaints officer employed by the Office of the Public Guardian and Public Trustee, determines whether a complaint goes forward. This is conflict of interest. Noted on our website are serious concerns about the past behavior of the Office of the Public Guardian and Public Trustee and the failure by Ministers of the Crown to exact accountability from these, their employees.

Presently there are no standardized guidelines to determine competency. We understand that there are seniors who need protection however we submit that the present process is severely flawed. One Alberta citizen who is being detained was assessed TWELVE times in a period of fifteen months by geriatricians, professors of medicine, physicians, psychologists, etc. Is this a science or an industry?

We have documented a litany of untrustworthy, unprofessional assessments and or irregularities, processes where seniors have had their rights and monies unfairly or even illegally taken/seized from them.

A senior may be charged from $400, – $5000 for an alleged assessment. In some instances we have documented that the physician had not only, not interviewed the senior but had not seen the senior for some months.

The Form I’s of one senior who has been detained for close to a year both state, “Poor insight and judgement”, “Poor insight and judgement” could apply to almost half the population.

Furthermore, we have documented accounts where the damning assessments were WITHDRAWN not reversed, because family or advocates got involved and strongly objected. No one apologized, the medical person/assessor, was not held accountable.

It must be clearly understood, that to be declared incompetent he/she is stripped of all rights. Rights such as access to monies/bank account, identification papers/ birth certificate, freedom of association, mail, right to financial statements, determining where to live, self determination, personhood.

Finally, the name of the Act has been changed. The name of the Court has been changed. Definitions and titles have been changed. However, there continues to be no standardized protocol regulating assessments. No one has jurisdiction to hold abusive guardians & trustees accountable. There continues to be no guarantee of a fair court hearing.

In essence the Act remains an embellished version of the former Dependent Adults Act only more restrictive and draconian.

The tragic irony is, that the enactment of this law, which our Legislators have so carefully crafted, will ultimately also ensnare and disable them, especially if they have healthy bank accounts. Few escape the journey into old age.

Take action:

• Call & meet with your MLA & tell him/her that you are offended by this legislation & want it repealed.
• Contact friends and acquaintances across the province and inform them of this legislatively sanctioned abuse. Call them to action.
• Write letters to heads of government, leaders of opposition parties & send copies to Elder Advocates of Alberta Society, Box # 45028, Edmonton, AB. T6H 5Y1