The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly’s 41st Annual General Meeting of Membership took place on Tuesday, October 28, 2025. Thank you to all who joined us in person and online to hear updates on ACE’s work over the past year, financial reporting, Board elections, and a special presentation, “ACE Answers Your Retirement Home Questions: Residents’ Rights to Visiting, Returning Home & Housing Security.”

If you missed the event, you can view the full recording on ACE’s YouTube channel

Annual General Meeting Agenda

  1. Land Acknowledgement
  2. Welcome & Report from the Chair of the Board of Directors
  3. Approval of Minutes – 2023–24 Annual General Meeting
  4. Financial Report
  5. Election of Board of Directors
  6. Executive Director’s Report
  7. Adjournment of Business Meeting
  8. Special Presentation “ACE Answers Your Retirement Home Questions: Residents’ Rights to Visiting, Returning Home, and Housing Security”

Click here to view the 2025 AGM PowerPoint.

Special Presentation Topic:

ACE Answers Your Retirement Home Questions: Residents’ Rights to Visiting, Returning Home, and Housing Security

Get clear answers on residents’ rights around locked units, hospital returns, visitor access, eviction threats, and where to turn when those rights are denied.

This program contains 1 hour of EDI Professionalism Content

About the Presentation

Retirement homes are often misunderstood when it comes to tenancies and residents’ rights. This session will tackle the most pressing questions facing retirement home residents and their families—Who decides on locked units or medication when there’s disagreement? What happens when a home refuses to re-admit someone after a hospital stay? We’ll untangle the confusion between retirement homes and long-term care, debunk common myths about powers and restraints, and examine how “risk management” is often used to justify restrictive policies.

We’ll also explore eviction rules, and how to challenge unlawful rules imposed by the home, along with practical avenues for complaints and legal advocacy. Finally, we’ll address visitor rights and the real cost of social isolation. This is a candid discussion about the tension between safety and autonomy—and how residents can assert their right to call a retirement home truly home.

Panelists

Bethanie Pascutto — Staff Litigation Lawyer, ACE

Bethanie joined ACE as a staff litigation lawyer in November 2023. She graduated from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2019. Prior to joining ACE, Bethanie was an associate at a litigation boutique in Toronto. She has appeared before trial level and appeal courts across Canada, as well as a number of administrative tribunals.

Jane E. Meadus — Staff Lawyer & Institutional Advocate 

Jane is a staff lawyer and Institutional Advocate at the ACE, where she has worked since 1995. She represents clients in long-term care homes, hospitals, psychiatric facilities, and retirement homes on related legal issues. Called to the Ontario Bar in 1993, she has appeared at inquests and inquiries, including the El Roubi/Lopez Inquest and the Gillese Inquiry into long-term care. Jane is a widely published author and frequent speaker on elder law issues, regularly contributing to media discussions, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has chaired numerous educational programs, including Osgoode’s Elder Law Certificate. Jane served on the National Long-Term Care Services Standard Committee and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law Studies. Her awards include the 2016 Osgoode PD Award for Outstanding Contribution to CLE, the 2022 Ontario Health Coalition Orville Thacker Award, and the 2025 OBA Award for Excellence in Elder Law.