To be capable, a person must have the ability to understand information related to the treatment decision, and the ability to appreciate the consequences of their decision.

A resident must consent to a capacity evaluation.

Regulated health practitioners who find a resident incapable of making a treatment decision are required to follow their regulatory college's guidelines in providing information.

A substitute decision maker can consent on a resident’s behalf, even if the resident is capable.

A person who has made a Power of Attorney for Personal Care document can no longer make his or her own treatment decisions.

A resident's substitute decision maker can decide whether or not the resident is capable of making treatment decisions.

Health care providers are not responsible for ensuring that substitute decision makers are capable of providing consent.

A resident can be incapable of making a particular treatment decision in the morning, and then capable of making the same decision in the afternoon.

Even if a resident is capable, informed consent for treatment must also be obtained from the person named in the resident's Power of Attorney for Personal Care document.

Residents have the right to appeal a finding of incapacity.