May 19th, 2022

Horwath’s NDP would get corporations out of seniors care

SAULT STE. MARIE – NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says that the Canadians for Tax Fairness blockbuster report on long-term care shows the urgent need to get for-profit corporations out of long-term care. The report shows that $4 billion in public funding was diverted away from improving care for residents, and into private profits over the last decade. Horwath released the following statement:

“The NDP wholeheartedly supports the recommendations of the Canadians for Tax Fairness report. We will get for-profit corporations out of seniors’ care in Ontario, and give generations of seniors the quality of life and quality of care they deserve.

For too long, big long-term care corporations have been cutting corners and padding their pockets at the expense of Ontario’s seniors. These corporations made billions of dollars in profits from public funds while eroding care for our parents and grandparents. As a result, too many of our loved ones live through neglect, and die in horrible conditions.

The pandemic alone didn’t break nursing homes. A decade of Liberal privatization set the stage for Doug Ford’s cuts, and ultimately the failure of Ontario’s long-term care system to protect seniors from COVID-19. Now, Ford’s rewarding the companies that failed our loved ones with new 35-year contracts and licenses to expand.

But together, we have a chance to fix it.

We can take the profits out, and put care back in. We can invest in home care so people can live at home longer. We can train and hire tens of thousands of nurses and PSWs so everyone in long-term care gets a minimum of four hours of attention and care, every day. We can make sure there’s always someone to listen, and someone to care. We have a shot at turning things around right now. With the NDP we’ll build public and not-for-profit long-term care that feels like home.”

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