In the News May 12

Ontario Election 2022

Demands of the Ontario Health Coalition

The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) is calling on all provincial parties to do the following:

– Stop the privatization of health care and expand our public and non-profit health care institutions and services.

– Commit to bring Ontario’s funding for health care up to the average of the rest of Canada, as Ontario currently funds our health care at the lowest rate of any province.

– Commit to a minimum requirement of four hours of care per resident per day in each and every long-term care home, for real. The Ford government has set four hours of care per resident per day as a “target” delayed to three years from now. They have also expressly given themselves the power to change that target timeline to delay it further in their new Long-Term Care Act. They have also written the Act in such a way to ensure that no single long-term care home actually can be held accountable for that target, which is an average across every home across the province. Thus, to date, it is meaningless PR that needs to be made real.

– Reinstate the comprehensive inspections in long-term care that were cancelled by the current government and conduct a surprise inspection of every home within one year. Ford said, in response to the military reports revealing horrific conditions in long-term care, that he would bring back the inspections. He did not do so. Then last fall, the long-term care minister of the Ford government again announced it would bring back the inspections they cancelled, but they have delayed this by two years, until after the provincial election. These inspections must be reinstated immediately.

– Hold long-term care operators responsible for egregious negligence and non-compliance, including meaningful fines, revocation of licenses, and criminal charges where warranted. Not one long-term care home operator has been fined. Not one has lost their license. There has been no accountability.

– Recognize, respect and uphold the human rights of residents in long-term care, including the right to have family caregivers, the right to consent to care, the right to be treated with dignity and quality.

– Uphold the principle of single-tier health care and stop two-tier charges for needed health care services in private COVID testing & other private clinics, and as a result of the erosion of our public health care services

“Ontario is one of the wealthiest provinces,” said Natalie Mehra of the OHC. “We cannot go back to the same patterns of growing inequality and inadequate care before the pandemic. We must safeguard our principles and rebuild a health care system in the public interest to serve Ontarians for the next generation. These issues should be key election issues.”

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(Ontario Health Coalition)

Ontario Political Forum, posted May 12, 2022.