“Revolution” In Elder Care Q&A

• Our plan will guarantee home care for anyone who needs it and will end for-profit long-term care in Ontario.
• The pandemic was a wake-up call that cannot be ignored. We must recognize that institutionalizing seniors through long-term care has been one of the great mistakes of the 20th century.
• Instead of worrying about the quality of care, Doug Ford has put the financial interests of his Conservative friends in the for-profit long-term care sector first.
• We will introduce a Home Care guarantee that will ensure an additional 400,000 seniors have access to home care in the next four years.
• And our plan will build 30,000 new long-term care spaces by 2028 and redevelop and modernize 28,000 existing spaces with a new focus on smaller community based homes.

  

Q. How will you transition from for-profit LTC to non-for-profit by 2028?

• We need to fundamentally change the way we care for our elders.
• Covid has dramatically highlighted these differences between the mortality rates and care provided between not-for-profit homes and those owned and operated by for-profit companies.
• The Ontario Liberal Party will end for-profit long-term care as quickly as possible, with a target of 2028, by:
  
  • not renewing licenses for for-profit homes;
  • negotiating and financing the transfer of existing homes to not-for-profit entities through a one-time fund; and
  • supporting the provision of long-term care services through not-for-profit and municipal entities only.
• No transition is easy but we have a goal to phase out for-profit long term care facilities by 2028.

Q. Don’t the existing for-profit LTCs have 25 to 30 year contracts? Are you planning to end them unilaterally?

• We will negotiate the transfer of for-profit LTCs to not-for-profit organizations. We will make it clear that for-profit LTC operators do not have a place in Ontario to make money off of our vulnerable seniors.
• In the interim as we negotiate the transfer of facilities to not-for-profit organizations, we will have an approach designed to ensure accountability for the care and support that people require when living in long-term care facilities, including:
  • A zero-tolerance enforcement policy with real sanctions when long-term care homes endanger their residents and fail to provide professional, personalized care;
  • Focus government funding on resident care and services and use a forensic accounting process to audit that provincial and resident funding is being used for its intended purposes and not for profit;
  • Non-renewals of licenses and interim management arrangements for homes that fail to meet legislated care standards and cause harm to or otherwise endanger residents; and
  • Repealing the Ford government legislation that protects profiteering long-term care companies from legal liability for harming residents.

Q. Are you going to stop the recently awarded contracts given to for-profit to build new beds?

• Our plan is to change how our vulnerable seniors are supported.
• First, we will significantly increase home care funding to ensure that any senior who wants to stay in their home is able to stay in their home. Our plan will provide an additional 400,000 seniors with guaranteed home care by 2026.
• Over 95% of seniors have indicated a strong preference to stay in their homes for as long as possible to be near their families and friends.
• Secondly, we will revamp the model for long-term care from institutional warehouses to smaller community-based homes that resemble a person’s own home.
• Our goal is to transition for-profit care to non-for-profit care by 2028.

Q. Where will the new spaces be located?

• We want to make sure that Ontario seniors can access care right in their own communities.
• That is why we will work with municipalities and local partners to ensure the new spaces are strategically spread across the province.
• We are focused on building long-term care homes that reflect their communities rather than institutional warehouses. We’ll do this by providing capital, operating and governance support to non-profit groups that want to build long-term care homes, with an emphasis on smaller homes.

Q. There is a staffing shortage in Home Care and LTC. How will you recruit new PSWs and other health workers?

• Covid as well as this government’s policies such as Bill 124 have resulted in a staffing shortage in home care and long-term care.
• We will make sure that our front-line health care workers are more valued and supported. We will be providing more detail on how we will accomplish this in the coming days.

Q. Are you also banning for-profit Home Care?

• We will work with home care providers to ensure that front line services are maximized and that seniors will get the home care they need to stay in their homes.
• We will be prioritizing investments in the not-for-profit home care sector.
• And work towards a fully non-profit home care model.