Ford’s PC MPPs voted unanimously against NDP Leader Andrea Horwath Motion To Launch Find-And-Fix Public Inquiry
A Statement from Ontario NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath
Posted May 20th, 2020 on Niagara At Large
Ontario Official Opposition and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath
QUEEN’S PARK — Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath released the following statement after the Ford government voted down an NDP motion (tabled this May 19th) calling for a full, independent public inquiry into Ontario’s long-term care system:
“It’s unconscionable for the Ford government to refuse to launch a full, independent public inquiry into how badly Ontario’s long-term care system has failed vulnerable seniors, and how to fix it.
“Voting no to a public inquiry is salt in the wound of families grieving the loss of loved ones to COVID-19 in long-term care, and for health care heroes who are run off their feet and still pleading for personal protective equipment. It is a cause for us all to worry that the painful, dangerous, decades-in-the-making problems in long-term care are not going to change.
“To fix the system, we need to give a voice to seniors, workers, experts, and families who’ve lost loved ones. We need to closely examine the role of private, for-profit corporations in long-term care.
“The NDP wants this public inquiry to be find-and-fix — which means we can urgently address the problems in long-term care as soon as they’re identified. In fact, we could start that today with a permanent $4 raise for personal support workers, by creating minimum care hours for each resident, and with regular mandatory comprehensive inspections.
“For the government to review the government with a behind-closed-doors government-controlled commission is not good enough. People deserve better.”
To read the Ford Government’s announcement this May 19th to launch an independent commission to review problems in Ontario’s long-term care facilities, including a brief comment from Niagara At Large reporter Doug Draper, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2020/05/19/ontario-government-announces-independent-commission-into-long-term-care/ .
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One union leader said, if this was not primarily a female workforce and three workers died in one week in the Toronto area, there would be hell to pay.
Seniors deserve better care. Private homes had the majority of deaths because their bottom line is money. They cut back on supplies and staff and the staff are so overworked and poorly paid that they have to work several places to make a decent living. In addition, private homes send staff to more than one home carrying diseases with them. One friend who worked for a private home (the employer owned several) often brought in food because people were hungry and there was not enough food for the residents.
A friend worked for the NHS for almost 30 years, was single and never hired full time so they could keep her salary low and avoid paying the benefits she needed. Who cares about employees?
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