Rasouli and Consent to Withdraw Treatment

In Rasouli v. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2011 ONCA 482, the Court of Appeal held that a physician's obligation to obtain consent to treatment under the Health Care Consent Act includes an obligation to obtain a patient or Substitute Decision Maker's consent to the withdrawal of life support when this withdrawal medically necessitates the provision of palliative care.

Presented at County of Carleton Law Association, Montebello, Quebec, November 2011