Nova Scotia legislature set to recognize independence of adults with intellectual deficits

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.