QUEEN’S PARK — Mike Schreiner released the following statement after the Minister of Long-Term Care said there would be a review of the system once the pandemic is over:
“Ontario’s long-term care sector was clearly not prepared for a pandemic.
The worst of the tragedy in long-term care was a preventable disaster.
For years, elders have been neglected and workers have been undervalued by a system that puts savings over safety.
The promise of a ‘review’ is cold comfort to the families whose loved ones have died alone or to the residents who continue to live in fear.
The Minister should be promising a complete overhaul of the system to end the chronic underfunding and put the dignity of elders above all else.
Instead she is promising a ‘review’ that might not even be public or transparent.
Ontario needs more than a review of long-term care. We need a public inquiry that is independent and transparent.”