Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Prince Edward Island

The Good Samaritan: compassion and protection

Drawn from the Bible (Luke 10:25-37), the parable of the Good Samaritan tells of a traveller left for dead who is rescued by a stranger that tends to him and sees to his care. Beyond its religious context, it carries a universal message: the moral duty to help others in danger, through compassion and altruism.

Inspired by this principle, many so-called Good Samaritan laws have been enacted around the world to protect those who assist in good faith during an emergency from legal action. The exact scope of that protection, however, varies from one jurisdiction to another: here is what the law applicable to your region provides.

Statute citation

Governing act Volunteers Liability Act, RSPEI 1988, c V-5. PEI has no separate broad Good Samaritan statute.
Scope of protection Protects a volunteer acting in good faith, including when rendering emergency assistance to a person or to endangered property, from liability, unless there is gross negligence. The Act is oriented mainly to organizational volunteers rather than a broad spontaneous-bystander immunity.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection Protected
Statute No defibrillator-specific provision; AED use may fall under the general immunity of the Volunteers Liability Act, but coverage for a spontaneous bystander is uncertain.
No legal duty to rescue AED protection

Your protection under the law

In Prince Edward Island, there is no separate broad Good Samaritan statute; it is the Volunteers Liability Act that protects a volunteer acting in good faith, including when rendering emergency assistance to a person or to endangered property, except in cases of gross negligence. This text is oriented mainly toward volunteers attached to organizations rather than a broad immunity for the ordinary bystander. For an AED, use may fall under that same protection, but its reach for a spontaneous rescuer remains uncertain.

No duty to act, but every reason to

In Prince Edward Island, no law requires you to render aid: helping remains a personal choice. The protective framework here is narrower than elsewhere, shaped more for organizational volunteers than for the improvised bystander — all the more reason to act with method and judgment. That is precisely where solid training proves its worth: it teaches you to intervene safely, prudently, and fully in good faith.

Why training matters

In a cardiac arrest, every minute without resuscitation drops the chance of survival by about 10 percent — a relentless countdown in which the bystander plays the leading role. On a small island like Prince Edward Island, that closeness is also a strength: the actions of a neighbour or colleague can reach the victim well before the ambulance. Learning CPR and AED use gives you the command to act with assurance, and to do so under the safest conditions for everyone. Once within you, that knowledge needs only one occasion to save a life.