Ontario government says it has doubled number of long-term care home inspectors

The Ontario government says it has doubled the number of its long-term care inspectors. Residents are shown at Idola Saint-Jean long-term care home in Laval, Que., Friday, February 25, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

The Ontario government says it has doubled the number of its long-term care inspectors.

The province says the hiring of 193 new long-term care inspection staff, including 156 inspectors, is part of a three-year $72.3 million investment.

Long-term Care Minister Paul Calandra says the new hires strengthen the province's inspection regime as part of changes the government brought in late in 2021 to bolster enforcement.

Those changes came in the wake of a scathing independent report that found the province's outdated oversight and chronic underfunding contributed to the COVID-19 pandemic's deadly consequences in long-term care.

The government says the additional staff mean the province now exceeds its goal of one inspector for every two homes in Ontario.

Earlier this month, the government said it was proposing increased fines for long-term care homes who don't meet requirements to have air conditioning in every resident's room.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2023.