Long-term care Minister should promise overhaul of the system

May 7, 2020

QUEEN’S PARK — Mike Schreiner released the following statement after the Minister of Long-Term Care said there would be a review of the system once the pandemic is over:

“Ontario’s long-term care sector was clearly not prepared for a pandemic.

The worst of the tragedy in long-term care was a preventable disaster.

For years, elders have been neglected and workers have been undervalued by a system that puts savings over safety.

The promise of a ‘review’ is cold comfort to the families whose loved ones have died alone or to the residents who continue to live in fear.

The Minister should be promising a complete overhaul of the system to end the chronic underfunding and put the dignity of elders above all else.

Instead she is promising a ‘review’ that might not even be public or transparent.

Ontario needs more than a review of long-term care. We need a public inquiry that is independent and transparent.”

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