Theorizing Care and Care Work: A Regulatory Perspective

This is part of a larger research project that is intended to contribute to the debate about social regulation by focusing on recent changes to law governing long-term care (LTC) homes (also known as nursing homes) in Ontario, Canada. The first part of the paper uses the contributions of feminist political economy as a useful introduction to critiques about the regulation of LTC homes. I then introduce the concept of “legal complexity” to provide an additional lens to explain why the regulatory framework is the way it is. The main part of the paper will offer an empirical account of changes to regulation by focusing on the following examples: 1) Residents’ Bill of Rights; 2) safety and security of residents and 3) compliance and enforcement. I mainly rely on legal research and review of government documents released between 2004 and 2010. The last part of the paper will offer my preliminary observations about the regulation of the LTC sector in Ontario. Based on my review of a small set of changes, I suggest that law is used to provide guidance and certainty to LTC home residents about their rights and entitlements. Equally important, law is used to address the diverse needs and circumstances of those who are subject to it. The changes to law should be interpreted as attempts to conform law to the evolving understanding of the state’s actions / involvements in the LTC sector.