Quality End-of-life Care Coalition of Canada (QELCCC)

The CHPCA serves as the Secretariat for the Quality End-of-life Care Coalition of Canada (QELCCC), a group of 35 national organizations dedicated to improving end-of-life care for all Canadians.

Mission Statement:

The Quality End-of-Life Care Coalition believes that all Canadians have the right to quality end-of-life care that allows them to die with dignity, free of pain, surrounded by their loved ones, in a setting of their choice.

The Coalition believes that to achieve quality end-of-life care for all Canadians there must be a well funded, sustainable national strategy for hospice palliative and end-of-life care. It is the mission of the Quality End-of-Life Care Coalition to work together in partnership to achieve this goal.

Advocacy Campaign

During the pandemic, we have individually and collectively experienced suffering and loss, which has led to a national conversation about how people want to live their final days. We must keep the momentum going and push for governments at all levels to improve palliative and end-of-life care for all.

We need your help to amplify our message!

Help us keep the conversation going by sending a letter to your elected officials by clicking below.

Advocacy Documents

Education - Environmental Survey

Research Publications

Wan, A., Lung, E., Ankita, A., Li, Z., Barrie, C., Baxter, S., Benedet, L., Mirhosseini, M., Mirza, R., Thorpe, C., Vadeboncoeur, C., & Klinger, C. (2022). Support for Informal Caregivers in Canada: A Scoping Review from a Hospice and Palliative/End-of-Life Care Lens. Journal of Palliative Care [Sage], Online First; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08258597221078370

Open Access publication supported by the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN).

Skantharajah, N., Barrie, C., Baxter, S., Borja, M.C., Butters, A., Dudgeon, D., Haque, A., Mahmood, I., Mirhosseini, M., Mirza, R., Ankita, A., Thrower, C., Vadeboncoeur, C., Wan, A., & Klinger, C. (2021). The Grief and Bereavement Experiences of Informal Caregivers: A Scoping Review of the North American Literature. Journal of Palliative Care [Sage], Online First; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08258597211052269.

Open Access publication supported by Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN).

Lung, E., Wan, A., Ankita, A., Baxter, S., Benedet, L., Li, Z., Mirhosseini, M., Mirza, R., Thorpe, K., Vadeboncoeur, C., & Klinger, C. (2021). Informal Caregiving for People with Life-limiting Illness: Exploring the Knowledge Gaps. Journal of Palliative Care [Sage], Online First; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0825859720984564.

Open Access publication supported by the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE).

Antonacci, A., Barrie, C., Baxter, S., Chaffey, S., Chary, S., Grassau, P., Hammond, C., Mirhosseini, M., Mirza, R., Murzin, K., & Klinger, C. (2020). Gaps in Hospice and Palliative Care Research: A Scoping Review of the North American Literature. Journal of Aging Research [Hindawi], 2020; https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2020/3921245/.

Open Access publication supported by the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) and the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE).

History and Mandate of the Coalition

On June 6, 2000, the Senate of Canada issued the report Quality End-of-Life Care: The Right of Every Canadian. This report was an update of the Senate’s 1995 report, Of Life and Death. In the intervening five years, the Senate discovered that little progress had been made on its 1995 recommendations. The 2000 report contains strong recommendations to ensure that Canadians have access to high quality end-of-life care. The Quality End-of-Life Care Coalition of Canada (QELCCC) supports the recommendations made in the 2000 Senate Report.

The first recommendation of the Senate report is that the federal government, in collaboration with the provinces & territories, develop a Canadian strategy for end-of-life care. The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (formerly the Canadian Palliative Care Association) discussed the Senate report with several of its national partner groups such as the Canadian Cancer Society, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the ALS Society of Canada, and the Canadian Association of Retired Persons. It quickly became clear that national voluntary sector groups are concerned about end-of-life care and wish to see a well-funded, sustainable Canadian strategy that would include a strong voice of the voluntary sector and of patients and their families.

Executive Summary

Within the QELCCC are three working groups, as well as an Executive Committee, composed of the chairs of each of the three working groups (Advocacy, Education, and Research and Knowledge Translation). The CHPCA serves as the secretariat for the QELCCC, providing administrative support for the working group tasks.

Blueprint for Action

Over the past 15 years, the 35 national organizations that are members of the QELCCC have worked together to improve hospice palliative care for all Canadians. Their goals were to improve access to care, increase the number of professionals and volunteers with the skills to provide high quality hospice palliative care, promote research that would improve care, support the family members who care for people who are dying, and educate Canadians about their choices at end of life.

In 2010, the Quality End of Life Coalition of Canada (QELCCC) released the Blueprint for Action 2010-2020 which identified priority areas and recommendations for the last 10 years. Moving forward, the Coalition produced the Blueprint for Action 2020-2025 to continue to improve quality hospice palliative care and access for all Canadians and provide a summary of progress made to date, current knowledge, issues and gaps.

Coalition Members

Associate Members

Coalition Committees and Terms of Reference

Past Resources

2021 Election Kit

In preparation for the 2021 election the QELCCC has begun advocacy work to further the coalition’s mandate of improving end-of life care for all Canadian. To learn more about the current efforts of the QELCCC check out the 2021 Election Kit, which contains an Election Letter and Briefing Notes.

Social Media Graphics