We, the undersigned, concerned residents of Ontario, patients, families, caregivers, and advocates, come together with deep compassion for those who have suffered or lost loved ones due to preventable harm in our healthcare system. We believe every person deserves safe care, honest answers, and real justice when things go wrong. For far too long, systemic barriers have prevented meaningful accountability, leaving families grieving without closure and eroding trust in the very institutions meant to protect us. 

The Core Problem – A System Lacking True Accountability For decades, Ontario's healthcare system has allowed hospitals and providers to largely self-investigate and self-govern serious incidents, often resulting in outcomes that protect institutions rather than patients. Regulatory bodies like the CPSO, while important, are not fully independent and remain closely tied to the medical community they oversee. This creates an inherent imbalance where patient concerns may not receive the impartial scrutiny they deserve. 

The Patient Ombudsman, created to support those harmed, lacks strong enforcement powers — it can investigate and recommend, but cannot compel binding changes or remedies in many cases, limiting its ability to drive real improvement. (See footnote 5 below.)

Patients seeking justice through the courts face enormous obstacles. Lawyers hesitate to take on cases because the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) — funded in large part by taxpayer-subsidized reimbursements to physicians — mounts aggressive, resource-heavy defenses. This often prioritizes protecting reputations over fair compensation, with legal costs frequently exceeding any payouts to victims, discouraging valid claims and leaving many families without recourse. (See footnote 4 below.)

A profound lack of transparency compounds these issues: serious incidents are often kept private, preventing public learning, media scrutiny, or political action. This culture of silence — where preventable errors receive little coverage and reforms stall — perpetuates harm and hides the need for change. 

One particularly concerning and under-known example is Ontario's policy on Do Not Resuscitate (DNR / no-CPR) orders. Under current CPSO guidance in the "Decision-Making for End-of-Life Care" policy, physicians may write a DNR order and withhold CPR without prior consent from the patient or substitute decision-maker when they judge resuscitation to be non-beneficial. Many Ontarians are unaware of this practice, which raises serious questions about patient and family rights, potential for misuse, and the need for stronger safeguards in end-of-life decisions. (See footnotes 1/2/3, below.)

Most cases of medical harm in Ontario are treated as civil matters, meaning families must pursue private lawsuits for compensation—often facing huge barriers, long delays, and uncertain outcomes. In reality, the vast majority of preventable errors and harms go unaddressed entirely: many victims and families remain silent due to fear, financial strain, emotional exhaustion, or lack of accessible recourse. While truly egregious cases involving gross recklessness could theoretically lead to criminal consequences, these are exceptionally rare. We believe stronger deterrence and justice are needed in the most serious instances to better protect patients and prevent future harm. *

These are not isolated failures — they reflect a long-standing imbalance that prioritizes institutional protection over patient safety and fairness. We deeply respect the dedication of the vast majority of healthcare workers who provide compassionate care every day. Yet without independent, robust oversight, transparency, and real consequences, vulnerable patients and families continue to bear the burden.

Our Calls to Action We respectfully urge the Government of Ontario and relevant authorities to implement the following changes to rebuild trust and protect patients: 

1. Create Truly Independent Oversight Establish external, impartial bodies — separate from medical associations — to investigate serious complaints and incidents, ensuring fairness and freedom from conflicts of interest. 
2. Strengthen the Patient Ombudsman Grant binding powers to compel investigations, enforce recommendations, and deliver tangible remedies, making it a genuine advocate for patients. 
3. Reform CMPA Practices and Funding Increase transparency in CMPA expenditures, reduce reliance on taxpayer subsidies for prolonged defenses, and introduce measures to level the playing field so patients can pursue legitimate claims without insurmountable barriers. 
4. End Self-Investigation in Hospitals Require independent, third-party reviews for all serious patient harm incidents to eliminate bias and promote genuine learning and prevention. 
5. Mandate Transparency and Public Reporting Require public disclosure of serious incidents (with appropriate privacy protections), independent audits, and accessible information on outcomes to end secrecy, encourage media and political engagement, and allow the system to improve. 
6. Enhance Safeguards for End-of-Life Decisions Review and strengthen policies around DNR/no-CPR orders to ensure meaningful involvement of patients and families, greater transparency, and protections against potential abuse. 
7. Support Stronger Consequences for Severe Negligence Introduce legislation to treat gross negligence or deliberate misconduct as criminal offenses (with appropriate safeguards and thresholds) to deter harm and provide justice in the most serious cases. 
8. Improve Access to Justice Establish dedicated legal support or funds for patients and families pursuing accountability, helping to overcome financial and procedural hurdles. 

By signing this petition, we stand together in empathy and determination. No family should feel powerless after losing a loved one to preventable harm. Let's honor those experiences by building a healthcare system rooted in compassion, openness, and real accountability — where patients and families are truly heard and protected. 

Sign and share to help create lasting change. Thank you for your compassion and support. 

*Thank you to a kind supporter for pointing out how one sentence could be clearer—I've revised it to better reflect the reality that most medical harm goes unaddressed. Your feedback means so much. ❤️

1. CPSO Policy: Decision-Making for End-of-Life Care (current guidance allowing DNR without prior consent in certain circumstances) — https://www.cpso.on.ca/physicians/policies-guidance/policies/decision-making-for-end-of-life-care 
2. Discussion of Wawrzyniak v. Livingstone case and unilateral DNR implications — https://www.wagnersidlofsky.com/doctors-above-the-law 
3. Analysis of physician authority to withhold CPR deemed nonbeneficial without consent — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6877361 
4. CMPA funding and taxpayer subsidies — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8437250 
5. Patient Ombudsman limitations — https://patientombudsman.ca/Complaints/Before-you-make-a-complaint/What-we-can-and-cant-do