{"id":31536,"date":"2021-03-29T12:25:23","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T16:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/?p=31536"},"modified":"2021-03-29T12:25:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T16:25:26","slug":"albertas-freedom-to-care-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/legal\/2021\/03\/29\/albertas-freedom-to-care-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta’s Freedom to Care Act"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last week, Bill 58: Freedom to Care Act<\/a> was introduced in the Alberta legislature and is currently at second reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Act recognizes the vital role of volunteers and non-profits in the community. The government\u2019s goal<\/a> with the legislation is to remove regulatory barriers faced by organizations by allowing for \u201cone-time exemptions from regulations, if an exemption does not already exist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also aims to remove barriers faced by volunteers afraid of personal liability by enacting new liability protections for volunteers who act within the scope of their volunteer responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulatory Barriers<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The Act allows non-profits to make a request to the Minister for an exemption from a specific regulation, for a specific and limited time and for a specific charitable purpose. The Lieutenant Governor in Council may exempt a non-profit from any regulations made under any other Act (except those that apply only to non-profits).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea is that non-profits are often subject to regulations that are developed with for-profit businesses in mind. Because of this, regulations sometimes just don\u2019t fit with how non-profits work and can inhibit good works from benefiting the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In debate, the Minister provided a real-life example<\/a> of the situation this Bill is meant to address. During a cold snap, a congregation invited the homeless community into its church building, but because there was no exemption to allow for overnight stays of this sort, they had to create an all-night caf\u00e9 so those in need could stay in the warmth of the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteer Liability<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The Act limits claims for damage based on an act or omission of a volunteer. It would protect volunteers from liability if the volunteer was acting within the scope of his or her responsibilities and was properly licensed, certified or authorized for those activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protection does not apply if the damage was caused:<\/p>\n\n\n\n