Two separate protests outside Queen's Park as MPPs return for new legislative session
Calls for long-term care reform, as well as better wages for nurses, echoed outside the Queen’s Park on Monday during two separate protests as MPP’s returned to work for the start of a new legislative session.
As the Ford government delivered it’s throne speech, more than a dozen nurses rallied outside Queen’s Park demanding the province immediately repeal Bill 124, which limits wage increases to one percent over three years.
“Every year our salaries get further and further away from a living wage … It’s not appropriate and people are leaving the profession because there is no future,” said emergency room registered nurse Helen Winter.
The protest is the second in two days organized by advocacy groups Ontario Nurses United and Nurse with Signs.
In addition to repealing Bill 124, which the Ford government introduced in 2019, nurses are also calling for a retention plan to address the increasing staffing shortage amid the pandemic.
“There’s not one shift that goes by where we are five nurses short – patients are waiting longer, there’s no beds for patients, it’s a snowball effect,” said registered nurse Nancy Halupa. “They keep talking about hiring new nurses, but there is not talk of retention – if there’s no nurses left to train the new ones coming out, then there’s no profession left.”
A spokesperson for the president of the Treasury Board said “Bill 124 is designed to protect public sector jobs and vital frontline services, which are essential in our fight against COVID-19.”
In a separate protest Monday afternoon, more than 100 long-term care advocates and families of residents voiced their frustration with how the province has responded to the crisis in long-term care homes during the pandemic and demanded immediate action from the Ford government.
The protest organized by the Ontario Health Coalition was one of 16 being held across the province on Monday.
“We’re staggered that nothing has happened to improve care in long-term care, it has been promised repeatedly for the last two years and actually nothing has happened,” said executive director Natalie Mehra.
The coalition is calling on the province to immediately fast-track increases in care levels and staffing, better enforcement through the reinstatement of annual surprise inspections, and real accountability through fines, loss of license for repeated non-compliance and an end to for profit long-term care.
“People are not getting the basic care that they need, not one long-term care home – not even the worse has been held accountable in anyway, there has been no justice for the families of the almost 4,000 residents who died in the pandemic in long-term care,” said Mehra.
Among those in attendance expressing concerns over neglect was Michelle Jones, who’s 102 year-old grandmother survived her bout with Covid-19 last November.
“I’m so stressed, I’m exhausted…I have to go in there and do the job of these staff members because there is not enough of them - this is not sustainable,” said Jones.
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) was called in April 2020 to help seven long-term care homes in Ontario grappling with COVID-19 outbreaks.
A report from the CAF detailed horrifying conditions including neglect, major staffing shortages and a lack of personal protective equipment.
As part of its throne speech, the Ford government outlined its commitment to hire more than 27,000 long-term care workers over four years and plans to table legislation in the fall to help protect long-term care residents through better accountability, enforcement and transparency.
“The staffing and care levels have not improved at all and we’re saying no more false promises – we’re not going to accept anything less than real improve to long-term care,” said Mehra.
The ministry says it’s plan is built on three pillars: staffing and care; accountability, enforcement and transparency; and home infrastructure and development.
“This government has made historic commitments to increasing staffing levels and building new beds - and we're making good progress on these commitments. We intend to introduce legislation and we are moving to improve accountability in the long-term care sector to ensure residents get the care they deserve,” said a spokesperson for the Minister of Long-Term Care Rod Phillips in a statement to CTV News. “We look forward to working with groups across Ontario to fix long-term care."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.