Government Guardianship

Today while watching the CBC news, which is not the norm for me, I was made aware of something I found to be very disturbing that is happening in our area in Canada and possibly in other areas as well.

Please watch Manitobans in guardianship fight for rights in the link provided below.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6420927

Now that you have watched it – I am sure you are now aware of something that you may not have been aware of prior.

It took me by surprise as to how much authority they have in this situation and what is being done to people.

I wrote the CBC to provide feedback on how to avoid getting into this situation, but have not heard back yet.

I also wrote to W5 as I think this would be a great topic to investigate and provide more information on for the general public.

I contacted my Attorney and Doctor to see if they could shed some light on this subject.

I am assuming that having a living will and a Power of Attorney would keep you out of this situation, however, I do not want to assume anything and will continue to look into this until I find the appropriate answers.

This is what my lawyer had to say and my doctor agreed:

Regarding the news report, I note that The Public Guardian and Trustee is only appointed Committee as a last resort, in situations where a mentally incompetent adult needs help, but has no family, friends or a private trustee who can act on his or her behalf. If you would like more information about The Public Guardian and Trustee, I would encourage you to visit their website and review their helpful handbooks.

From the information above, I determined that the below is in everybody’s best interest:

Have a Health Care Directive
- I have found this website to be the most helpful and informative when making such decisions. Both my husband and I have completed the health care decisions worksheet
  - https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/lwforms
Find a Person that can be your Power of Attorney – someone that you trust completely
Having a will is also one of those good ideas

Do the above while you are still in good mental shape.

Check out the Important Information under the News Section in https://sponsorasenior.ca/ - there is a lot of really great information that is helpful and necessary to think about and act on.

I hope this information was informative and helpful.