Consumer Rights & Responsibilities

As a consumer, family member, substitute decision maker or caregiver, you have the right to expect that every Independent Living Waterloo Region (ILWR) employee and board member shall respect and promote your rights as follows:

1. To be dealt with in a respectful manner and to be free from physical, sexual, mental, emotional, verbal and financial abuse.
2. To be dealt with in a manner that respects your dignity and privacy, and that promotes your autonomy and participation in decision-making.
3. To be dealt with in a manner that recognizes your individuality and that is sensitive to and responds to your needs and preferences, including preferences based on ethnic, spiritual, linguistic, familial and cultural factors.
4. To receive home and community care services free from discrimination as per the Human Rights Code or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
5. A patient who is First Nations, Métis or Inuk has the right to receive home and community care services in a culturally safe manner.
6. To receive clear information about your ILWR services in a format that is accessible to you.
7. To participate in the assessment and reassessment of your needs, as well as the development and revision of your care plan.
8. To designate a person to be present with you during assessments, and to participate in the development, evaluation and revisions to your care plan.
9. To receive assistance in coordinating your services.
10. To give or refuse consent to the provision of any ILWR service.
11. To raise concerns or recommend changes related to the services that you receive, and with policies and decisions that affect your interests, without fear of interference, coercion, discrimination or reprisal.
12. To be informed of the laws, rules and policies affecting the delivery of ILWR services, including this Consumer Bill of Rights, and to be informed, in writing, of the procedures for initiating complaints about the services you are receiving.