Law Commission of Ontario Asked by Ontario Government to Undertake New Project to Make Registered Disability Savings Plans More Accessible

TORONTO, May 7, 2013 /CNW/ - The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) is beginning a new project at the request of the Ontario government to address how adults with developmental or mental disabilities might be better enabled to participate in the federal Registered Disability Savings Plan (RSDP) created by the federal government without an expensive competency assessment.

The RDSP is a savings vehicle to provide future support for persons with disabilities. Parents or guardians may open an RDSP for a child. However, adults with intellectual disabilities and others whose competence may be an issue may face challenges in opening or withdrawing from an RDSP without undergoing an expensive and lengthy competency process. "We are extremely pleased to be asked by the Ontario government to undertake this project," said Professor Bruce P. Elman, Chair of the LCO Board of Governors. "It reflects recognition of the high quality of the LCO's work and its contribution to law reform in the province."

The LCO will draw on work in two prior projects in which it has released final reports, its Framework for the Law as It Affects Older Adults and its Framework for the Law as It Affects Persons with Disabilities. It is currently undertaking a large project on capacity, decision-making and guardianship from which the RDSP project will benefit. The LCO will also call on the relationships with legal and academic experts and community members developed in the process of the older adults, persons with disabilities projects and capacity projects.

Launched in September 2007, the LCO is funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario, the Ministry of the Attorney General, Osgoode Hall Law School and the Law Society of Upper Canada, with additional financial and in-kind support from York University and support from the Ontario law schools. It is housed in the Ignat Kaneff Building, York University. It operates independently of government to recommend law reforms to enhance access to justice.

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SOURCE: Law Commission of Ontario - LCO

Patricia Hughes
Executive Director
[phone]
Law Commission of Ontario
[email protected]