Ontario commits to keep funding for-profit long-term care despite pandemic findings
It's been over a year since Cathy Parkes' father died from COVID-19, but she's still paying close attention to inspection reports for the long-term care home where he breathed his last breath.
Her father was one of 70 residents who died at Orchard Villa, a home in Pickering, Ont., during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020.
As recently as June, the home was dinged for failing to follow infection prevention and control protocols. Now, Parkes and other relatives are rallying against a potential license renewal and expansion for the home's owner, Southbridge Care Homes.
"I am flabbergasted that it's even a question," Parkes said of the potential renewal. "It should be a pretty simple no, considering the history of home."
A scathing report by Canadian Armed Forces members who were called in to help long-term care homes overwhelmed by the pandemic found residents at Orchard Villa were suffering without proper nutrition or hydration.
Parkes said she wants the municipality to take over the home. Her position isn't uncommon among families, advocates and opposition politicians who argue Ontario should transition away from for-profit ownership of long-term care homes, a segment of the sector that saw the highest death toll among residents.
In Parkes' view, the process should begin by revoking licenses of companies that saw high numbers of deaths and a documented failure to follow protocols.
But the Progressive Conservative government's priority has been the construction of new long-term care beds and it's continuing to award contracts to private operators.
Of 220 planned long-term care development projects, 111 will be for-profit, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Long-Term Care. The government is currently taking bids for long-term care development as it aims to build 30,000 new beds over the next decade. Successful applicants are expected to be announced early next year.
More than 4,000 long-term care residents have died during the COVID-19 pandemic. For-profit homes had nearly twice as many residents infected with the virus and 78 per cent more deaths compared with non-profit homes, according to scientists advising the government on the pandemic.
The commission looking into how the pandemic played out in long-term care noted in its final report that "now is the time to revisit the business" of the sector. It recommended that the government follow a model that allows private funding for construction but have operators that aren't profit-motivated run the homes.
Vivian Stamatopoulos, a professor at Ontario Tech University who studies family caregiving, said the government's continued support of for-profit homes is "terrifying" during a "watershed moment" as the province prepares to dole out 30-year contracts for the next generation of homes.
"We are going against all of the evidence as to what we should be doing," she said in a recent interview. "We're not doing anything to change the system. We are literally reproducing it even worse."
Stamatopoulos, who testified at the Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission, said the province should focus on accountability for bad actors during the pandemic with documented neglect, including taking back ownership.
Saskatchewan has taken some steps in that direction. It plans to end its contract with long-term care provider Extendicare -- which saw the province's deadliest COVID-19 outbreak in one of its homes -- and take over operations at the facilities.
Ontario's New Democrats have pledged that, if elected next June, they will phase out for-profit long-term care operators within eight years.
The Opposition party's plan for the sector also promises to stop issuing and renewing licenses to for-profit providers and fund other entities to take over homes. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath formally called on Ford's government in the legislature last month to place a moratorium on licenses for for-profit providers.
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said his party is still developing its election platform on long-term care, but noted that the pandemic has highlighted that profit and long-term care "don't mix well."
Long-Term Care Minister Rod Phillips has maintained that recent changes introduced by the Progressive Conservatives aimed at improving accountability and upping enforcement will improve the situation.
He's said that taking back licenses from for-profit homes isn't practical, arguing that approach would cost money and time that could be better spent expanding the sector.
"We would rather spend billions of dollars on building new homes," Phillips said in a recent interview.
There are approximately 38,000 people on waitlists for long-term care spaces in the province.
Non-profit, for-profit and municipal operators are encouraged to apply under the government's call for bids, but the report on the commission and a group representing not-for-profit operators have recommended policy changes that would make it easier for non-profit operators to successfully apply.
Parkes said she has a hard time trusting that the government's promises of greater accountability are more than pre-election talk.
"The military report comes out and Doug Ford says 'I'll hold these people accountable,' but instead they're giving them licenses," Parkes said. "It's a bit of a slap in the face."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Labour minister unveils steps to end Canada Post strike
Canada Post workers began their strike four weeks ago, halting mail and package deliveries across the country. Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said he hopes work will resume as early as next week.
Ottawa to remove 30% investment cap for Canadian pension funds
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the upcoming fall economic statement on Monday will remove the cap that currently restricts Canadian pension funds from owning more than 30 per cent of the voting shares of a Canadian entity.
Canada's homicide rate down in most provinces, with 2 exceptions
The homicide rate is declining in Canada, and the country’s three largest cities all saw double-digit percentage decreases in homicides per capita, according to data released this week.
'They believe in diplomacy, good luck': Doug Ford doubles down on energy threat as some premiers distance themselves
Doug Ford is standing behind his threat to stop providing the U.S. with electricity in response to president-elect Donald Trump’s promised tariffs, even as several other premiers publicly distance themselves from the stance.
Vader case: What it's like to watch a parole hearing if you're the grandson of homicide victims
On the other side of the planet, Bret McCann, whose grandparents went missing and died in the 2010s, sat anxiously as the man convicted in their deaths pleaded for parole.
Top musician forced to cancel Toronto concert after Air Canada refused to give his priceless cello a seat on plane
Famed British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who became a household name after performing at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, has said he had to cancel a concert in Canada after the country’s largest airline denied his pre-booked seat for his cello.
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit that alleged sexual assault by 'American Idol' producer Nigel Lythgoe
Paula Abdul and former 'American Idol' producer Nigel Lythgoe have agreed to settle a lawsuit in which she alleged he sexually assaulted her in the early 2000s when she was a judge on the show.
Federal government says 'not to confuse' premiers' differing opinions on Trump tariff retaliation, 'confident' in Canada's response
As it continues to tout a 'Team Canada' approach, the federal government is downplaying differing opinions from premiers on how Canada should respond to a potential 25 per cent tariff from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.
Eight people injured after horse-drawn wagon went out of control in eastern Ont.
Eight people were injured after horses became out of control while a man was offering a horse-drawn wagon ride Thursday in eastern Ontario, according to the Brockville Police Service.