Question Period: Tuesday, May 18
Pack the galleries — virtually
Since Covid restrictions kept them from packing the public galleries in person, families of long-term care residents did so virtually, facilitated by the Ontario Health Coalition.
Opposition MPPs played proxy and relayed their questions and messages to the government — but the two politicians who bear the most responsibility for the troubled file — LTC Minister MERRILEE FULLERTON and Premier DOUG FORD — were MIA. Ford’s office says he was in meetings and briefings, so House Leader PAUL CALANDRA was up at bat.
THE HIGHLIGHTS: Justice halfhearted is justice denied — “Why did you make it so ordinary people can’t sue long-term-care homes?” — “I’m raising my voice in memory of my mom” — PSWs not wearing full PPE during outbreak at Orchard Villa — Whipping the vote on motion to reopen outdoor recreation — “We need more PSWs” — Vax hunters picking up the government slack — Sending in the troops (or not) — Covid-positive manager allowed to work at Ottawa home — “The isolation contributed to her death.”
Justice halfhearted is justice denied
TRANSCRIPT — Ms. Andrea Horwath: There are hundreds of families and residents of long-term care watching across Ontario today and they’re demanding answers from the Ford government. We’ve offered to put their questions to the government today, and hoping, on their behalf and our own, that the Premier and the Minister of Long-Term Care will answer those questions.
The first one is from Sherry Colson-Hutchinson in Wiarton, and Sherry says this, “I’ve been watching with horror how this government has ignored conditions in long-term-care homes even after the military said that residents were dying not just with COVID but because they were dehydrated, starving and lying in their own urine and feces.”
On behalf of Sherry and so many others, why did the Premier break his promise of justice and a full investigation of those deaths from neglect and dehydration?
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the government House leader.
Hon. Paul Calandra: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As I’ve said on a number of occasions, not only for Sherry but for all the people of the province of Ontario, we certainly were put on the defence during the first phase of this battle with COVID. That is, of course, why, even prior to the pandemic, we began to reform the long-term-care system in the province of Ontario. We began renovating those outdated homes that still had ward beds. We put in thousands of additional spaces throughout the province of Ontario. We knew that there was an issue of staffing in the sector. That’s why we began a study into staffing issues that were being faced. Of courses, we increased pay. We knew that pay was an issue. We increased pay for the PSWs through pandemic pay.
That work continues not only before, but during and after. Obviously when we had vaccines—despite the shortfall in the early months, when we had vaccines, the very first people who we vaccinated were those people in our long-term-care homes. There is a lot of work left to be done, and we will continue that work for future generations of the province of Ontario.
Horwath: I just would like the members of the government side to look around these galleries and imagine these people actually here, because I can tell you for sure that if they were able to be here they would be here.
Here’s what Pamela says—Pamela lost both of her parents to a COVID-19 outbreak in Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon. Her dad, Ted, was a resident there, her mom was a frequent visitor and volunteer. She says this, “My elderly mother felt compelled to volunteer her time daily so my dad had the care he needed. She became a front-line volunteer for a for-profit home”—her emphasis, not mine. “After losing both of them, the Premier passed a bill that has made it significantly difficult for us to seek compensation from these multi-million dollar corporations.”
On behalf of Pamela and so many others why was it this Premier’s first act to protect for-profit owners and operators of these homes and himself from legal liability?
Calandra: The Leader of the Opposition will know that that’s actually not the case. The Premier undertook a commission of inquiry to undertake to understand what it was that happened.
Look, we knew in advance of the pandemic that there were significant issues in long-term care. I just mentioned that. There needed to be a build-out of long-term care. We needed renovations in some of the older homes, including that in Bobcaygeon. We put thousands—millions of dollars, frankly; hundreds of millions of dollars into doing that in advance of the pandemic. We wanted to know why staffing wasn’t staying in long-term-care homes. We started that work before the pandemic.
But we’ve gone further. We said there have to be four hours of care. We’re hiring 27,000 additional PSWs, 2,000 additional nurses, building out thousands of beds. We’ve engaged the coroner so that we can act on the recommendations of the commission of inquiry. Those families that want justice will be guaranteed that justice, and we will get to the bottom of this and make sure that these long-term-care homes are working for the people of Ontario for decades to come.
Horwath: Speaker, on the contrary, it actually did happen, and it was Bill 218, in case the government members forgot.
This is from Joyce Maxwell in Barrie: “I live in Barrie, just blocks from Roberta Place where my mom was a resident until her passing....It is also the place where all but one of the 129 residents entrusted to its care were infected by COVID-19 ... and where 71 residents subsequently died....I am here to demand justice and accountability for the residents of this home, and of the other homes in Ontario that failed our senior citizens so miserably.”
My question on behalf of Joyce and many, many others is, why has the government not provided justice? Why have they not provided accountability to the residents and to their family members in long-term care?
Calandra: I think the Leader of the Opposition would expect that, first and foremost, what we have to do is ensure that, as we are still in the midst of a pandemic, we make sure that our homes and the people within those homes have the highest level of service and protection that they can get. That is why one of the first groups of people that we vaccinated in phase 1 when we finally started to get vaccines from the federal government were the residents of long-term-care homes, and the impact of that has been dramatic.
But also, at the same time, we undertook a commission of inquiry. We knew that we had to get to the bottom of what it was that happened, and the commission of inquiry has helped us identity historical and systemic problems in long-term care that had not been addressed in the many years prior to this government taking office.
That’s not an excuse for not taking action. That’s why we took action: 27,000 additional PSWs are going to be hired, four hours of care, thousands of homes being built, older homes being renovated. There’s a lot of work to do. We will get it done, Mr. Speaker.
“Why did you make it so ordinary people can’t sue long-term-care homes?”
Horwath: My next question is to the Premier. I can tell you, those hundreds of family members and residents watching are probably insulted and disgusted by the fact that the Premier and the Minister of Long-Term Care refused to answer their requests. But I’m going to put another one forward.
This is from a front-line hero in long-term care from the Peterborough area, who says, “I sat in full PPE with a 92-year-old Navy veteran of” World War II “who survived his ship being bombed twice. He cried telling me he would rather die than live in isolation because this wasn’t living this was what they used to do to punish people in the war, this was worse than jail.”
Melodie McCullough from Peterborough says this: “Why did you make it so ordinary people can’t sue long-term-care homes? Why was there no investigation into the deaths ... that were caused by neglect?” Does the Premier have an answer to Melody’s question?
Calandra: I would hope that the Leader of the Opposition would agree that the very first thing that the government should do in the midst of a pandemic is make sure that the people of the province of Ontario, including the residents of long-term care, are taken care of. That’s why the vaccination effort started with long-term care.
We also understand that there are significant amounts of investments that had not been made in the years leading up to the pandemic. That’s why, before the pandemic, we started making those investments. During the pandemic, we continued to make those investments, and after, we’re budgeting for 27,000 additional PSWs, over 2,000 new nurses for the system, thousands of beds to build new homes and to fix and renovate those old outdated homes, Mr. Speaker. At the same time, we’ve engaged the coroner on this. We’re the first province to have a commission of inquiry into long-term care.
Those are the first steps, Mr. Speaker. Not one person who wants to seek justice will be stopped from seeking that justice, not by this government.
Horwath: Speaker, does the government House leader hear his own drivel? Four thousand people died in long-term care because they waited over a year for this government to do anything, anything at all to take care of them.
Here’s another quote from somebody who is watching, June Casselman of Markham, Speaker: “Our 90-year-old mother is in long-term care in Unionville. Her home was in lockdown from December 2020 to present, with the exception of approximately 12 days when the residents were able to leave their rooms. I can see the light in my mum’s eyes dimming.... It is worse than jail for these residents.”
Speaker, my question on behalf of June and many others is why are these residents still being kept separate from their families and loved ones?
Calandra: Mr. Speaker, as I said on a number of occasions, and I appreciate that the Leader of the Opposition might not agree, but our first priority, obviously, is the safety and security of the people in long-term care and their families.
We are in the midst of a third wave in the province of Ontario. And despite the fact that the our vaccination efforts have been very, very successful—with over seven million Ontarians receiving their first dose; and if I’m not mistaken, it’s close to 90% of those in our long-term care homes—there is still work to be done.
But our first priority is to keep those people safe, Mr. Speaker. That is what we are trying to do. That is also why we are making historic investments in the long-term-care sector, Mr. Speaker. I have been there with the people who have suffered. I have had homes in my own riding that required the attention of the Markham Stouffville Hospital.
I do not need the Leader of the Opposition to suggest I don’t care about people in our long-term-care homes. It is why we’re fighting so hard to increase investments in the sector, so that the devastation over the last 15 years is not the hallmark of the next 15.
Horwath: Speaker, this government utterly failed residents in long-term care and their loved ones. They should have, in fact, made them their first priority but they didn’t. They should have moved heaven and earth to protect those seniors in long-term care. They should have provided the justice and accountability for those folks when the homes failed them.
Instead, they protected the for-profit owners and themselves from legal liability. Instead, they left residents abandoned. Instead, they’ve broken their promises, time and time again. And to this very moment, they have not committed to implementing all of the recommendations of the long-term-care commission.
Speaker, on behalf of all of the families watching today and so many others, I want to ask this government: When will they take the profits out of long-term care? When will they stop protecting the for-profit owners and operators and themselves from legal liability? And when will this Premier finally show some commitment to change and fire his Minister of Long-Term Care?
Interjections.
The Speaker: Members will please take their seats. Government House leader.
Calandra: This is an opposition leader who, between 2011 and 2014, held the balance of power in this Legislative Assembly. She could have focused on long-term care. She could have focused on health care. Instead, she chose to focus on a stretch goal for insurance, accomplishing nothing.
When we took office in 2018, and even before, we understood that there was a problem in long-term care, Mr. Speaker. That is why we moved immediately to build thousands of new spaces for long-term care, so that we could bring down the waiting list. That is why the Minister of Health moved towards the creation of Ontario health teams. That is that is why we started to increase ICU capacity. That is why we looked at a staffing strategy, and right now we’re hiring 27,000 additional PSWs. That is why we announced last Friday the hiring of 2,000 new nurses. That is why we have said that we’re going to build 30,000 spaces over the next 10 years.
Our priority is making sure that we get it right, that we put the 15 years of the past behind us and that the next 15, 20 and 30 years are the best in long-term care. We’ll get the job done for those—
The Speaker: The next question. The member for Brampton Centre.
“I’m raising my voice in memory of my mom”
Ms. Sara Singh: Thank you. Good day, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Thousands of Ontarians are watching today and every single one of them deserves answers from Conservatives and this Premier. Suzanne Baril is one of those people.
Here is what she has to say: “I’m raising my voice in memory of my mom, Viviane Baril. My mom passed away on April 15, 2020. She was alone for a month before her passing. I was at my mom’s side for 12 years except for the last month. My mom was an RN who provided exemplary care to her patients. She did not deserve to die the way she did. I fought for 12 years bringing issues within the LTC to the attention of management. I was lied to repeatedly and promised that these things would change. It only got worse. Please be responsible and fix the LTC system.”
Speaker, after decades of Liberal neglect, Conservatives have only made the crisis in long-term care even worse. When will this government listen to people like Suzanne, take responsibility and start fixing Ontario’s broken long-term-care system?
Calandra: I thank the member for that question, because it highlights what we have been talking about for weeks in this place. Suzanne, in her email, I suspect to the member, highlights it very much more effectively than I ever could have. For 12 years she had been working and expressing some of the problems that we found when we took over: when the people gave us the awesome responsibility and the privilege of governing in 2018. Exactly what Suzanne has talked about is what we have found, Mr. Speaker. There was not enough staff, there had to be a staffing strategy; there were not enough homes, so we moved very quickly to build 30,000 new spaces.
I had a 118-year waiting list in my riding for long-term care; unacceptable in one of the richest provinces in this country, if not North America. We could do better, but that’s what these reports highlighted for us. Whether it was the Auditor General or the commission of inquiry, for decades leading up to this and in particular over the last 15 years, the lack of investments, the lack of attention by the previous Liberal government made it even more difficult to address the pandemic. But we won’t stop, Mr. Speaker. We’ll get the job done for the future generations.
Singh: Well, Liberals neglected long-term care, I think we all understand that, but this government has only made the situation worse. Their inaction throughout the pandemic cost us precious lives in the province of Ontario. That’s why Sharon Robbins is also joining us today in the gallery. She’s listening from Kawartha Lakes. She says to the Premier, “You keep calling us ‘friends,’ you keep talking about an ‘iron ring’ around LTC, but you don’t do anything.
“You almost eliminated in-person inspections of homes and those homes where there have been disastrous outcomes during COVID and where the military identified abysmal conditions have faced no consequences!”
So, Speaker, Sharon has a question for the Premier: When is he going to hold for-profit companies who run these long-term-care homes accountable, and when is he going to start protecting the citizens of Ontario instead of protecting his friends on the boards of those long-term-care homes?
Interjections.
The Speaker: Members, please take your seats. Government House leader.
Calandra: Of course, the very first step in accountability was the commission of inquiry, Mr. Speaker. A number of recommendations that were received throughout commission of inquiry, many of which have already started to be taken care of by the government. Also, the Auditor General’s report: very, very important. At the same time, we’ve engaged the coroner. I think these are steps that people would expect their government to take, Mr. Speaker.
At the same time, we understand the challenges in the system: not enough staff, not enough time spent with patients or with residents of long-term care. That is why we have a North-American-leading four hours of care for long-term care. That is why we’re hiring 27,000 additional PSWs. That is why we’re building 30,000 new spaces. That is why we’re hiring 2,000 new nurses.
It is a great first step. There’s more work to be done, Mr. Speaker, as we come out of the pandemic. That is why we vaccinated our seniors in long-term-care homes first. More work to be done, absolutely, but for the first time in decades this is a government that’s committed to getting it done.
[AFTER THE PCS ASKED THEMSELVES A FRIENDLY QUESTION ABOUT STRICTER BORDER MEASURES…]
PSWs not wearing full PPE during outbreak at Orchard Villa
Ms. Jennifer K. French: My question is to the Premier. This past April 20 marked one year since Mary Walsh died from COVID-19 at Orchard Villa long-term-care home in Pickering. Her daughter Marie Tripp says she is “sure she was dehydrated and starving.” Marie has video proof of PSWs not wearing full PPE during the outbreak. She believes that if management had provided personal protective equipment and proper training that things would have been different. Marie wants to know who is at fault. She wants to know which ministers in this province will take responsibility for the circumstances at Orchard Villa.
Speaker, I want to know why this government looked away for so long. We’ve all read the reports, and families know that more should have been done. Marie’s message to the government is: “We the families of deceased loved ones need answers, clarification, and justice. Will we get answers? Will we get justice?” Will this government take “any responsibility for its failure to keep people safe?”
Calandra: Yes, of course. That is why the Premier launched a commission of inquiry before any other province had. There’s a significant number of recommendations in there that are already well under way in the province of Ontario.
Look, we understood how difficult the first phase of this pandemic was, and, as is highlighted by the Auditor General and by the commission of inquiry, we were left in very challenging circumstances during the first part of this battle, because the previous government had left us so underprepared. But we’re making a difference. We’ve added nursing care. We’ve added 27,000 PSWs. We’re adding thousands of beds, and we’re well on our way to ensuring that the next generation of Ontarians have the best long-term-care system in the world. That does not alleviate anybody from what has happened during the first wave. But that is why we had a commission of inquiry, and we will get to the bottom of it.
French: Peter Morris in Oshawa lost his mother to COVID in the second wave in November of 2020. She had been living in long-term care in Peterborough. Peter believes COVID was brought into the ward by staff. His message to the government is this: “Her death was preventable. No restrictions on LTC employees working in multiple settings were in place. No paid sick leave was available to LTC workers who could avoid work if they experienced COVID symptoms.
“I blame my mother’s death on a government which failed to act with foresight and common sense in the face of predictable outcomes. There was no iron ring.”
Speaker, the Premier promised an iron ring to protect seniors, but instead, what he delivered was an iron ring around for-profit operators, so I will echo Peter Morris’s words in asking whether or not this government will indeed take responsibility for their failure to protect seniors, and if they will indeed take the profits out of long-term care.
Interjections.
The Speaker: Members will please take their seats. Again, the government House leader to respond.
Calandra: As I said, the initial response, of course, was to ensure that there was a commission of inquiry, so that we could understand what happened during the first wave. The Auditor General concluded a report, as well, and what was significant in both of these reports was the highlighting of the fact that the previous government, over 15 years, failed to make the important investments in the long-term care system. That’s what we understood, and that’s why we moved very quickly, even before the pandemic, to address some of the shortfalls in the system.
I understand Peter. I understand that the fact that we’re adding thousands of nurses and PSWs to the system does not diminish the pain that he feels right now. It doesn’t diminish the pain that anybody feels who lost a loved one. But what we can do is make sure that we have the best system in place, with the best quality of care. That means four hours of care. That means new homes. It means refurbishing the old homes and the wards that had been left unrefurbished for years. That means adding thousands of nurses. We’ll get the job done for future generations, without sacrificing our understanding of the past.
Whipping the vote on motion to reopen outdoor rec
Mr. Roman Baber: To the government House leader: the Canadian Paediatric Society quoted a student yesterday saying that kids are depressed, suicidal and lonely. They need school, and they need sports. But yesterday, government MPPs were whipped to vote with the government against a motion to open outdoor sports. For those watching at home, “whipped” means the MPPs were forced by the House leader, under the direction of the Premier, to vote for the government against the motion to open the outdoors. Every doctor is telling them that the outdoors are safe, and they actually want to open the outdoors, but to avoid admitting they were wrong, they vote against the opening. So they force MPPs to vote against the motion, or else they’ll have a seat for them right here next to me.
My question to the government House leader: Without telling us that they’re listening to the experts or reciting the months of the year again, was yesterday’s vote in which the government refused to open outdoor sports the right thing to do for our kids? And was it good for our democracy?
Calandra: Actually, Mr. Speaker, that gentleman will know quite well what it feels like voting with the government, because he did so on every occasion. When we initially brought in the state of emergency, that member was very happy to vote in support of that state of emergency. All of the measures that we have brought in to keep the people of the province of Ontario safe, that member was very happy to vote in favour of. He stood in his place and went through the lobby in a very safe way, wearing a mask to ensure that we could continue working on behalf of the people of Ontario in a safe, effective way. He was supportive of every single one of those measures, so he would know how important it is to keep the people of the province of Ontario safe, because on so many occasions, he did the very same thing.
Now, he has changed his mind, Mr. Speaker, but one thing that will remain consistent with this government is that we will put the people of the province of Ontario first. We will put the health and safety of the people of the province of Ontario first. That, I can guarantee him.
Baber: I’m not sure of the government House leader’s reasoning behind that. He knows full well that I’ve opposed the lockdown since May. He knows why I’m sitting on this side of the House. He threatened to kick me out when I opposed the lockdown in June.
The response by the government House leader is exactly what you’d expect from the government by now. They keep pretending that they’re not told that the outdoors are safe. They keep pretending that they don’t hear anything or read anything, and they stick to their ground until it becomes impossible, and then he recites the months of the year. Then they roll over and they pretend like it’s a victory of some sort, like with sick days. They will open the outdoors on their terms, and then they’ll have their MPPs do photo ops about how much they enjoy the outdoors, or how great it is for mental health.
Now, all of this would be funny if it weren’t tragic for our kids, so my question is: The doctors already told them that the outdoors are safe. They don’t need to wait for that. So when will you capitulate, own your failure and open the outdoors?
The Speaker: The Minister of Health.
Hon. Christine Elliott: As I indicated yesterday, yesterday was not the day to open the outdoors for all of the recreational amenities. But we encourage everyone to go outdoors to enjoy this warm weather. The parks are open. Please use them. Please go for a walk, a run. Walk your dog. Take your children and grandchildren out. We want people to go outside and enjoy the outdoors.
As you know, we still have high levels of hospitalizations, high numbers of people in our ICUs. We want to make sure that when people do go out, they use the proper public safety measures that we’ve asked people to do and that they have been doing for over the last year. But please, go outside and enjoy the outdoors.
[AFTER A FRIENDLY QUESTION ABOUT MICHIGAN SHUTTING DOWN LINE 5…]
“We need more PSWs”
Ms. Laura Mae Lindo: In September 2020, I tabled a private member’s bill calling on this government to create an independent seniors’ advocate in Ontario. Kitchener Centre residents supported it and so did this government, because people understood that it’s the government’s responsibility to protect us, especially during an unanticipated crisis like our current COVID-19 pandemic. That includes creating ways to raise concerns about how older adults are being treated before, during and part of the pandemic.
Beverly Summerfield, a Kitchener resident who is joining us virtually today in the gallery with the OHC, could have asked her question to the seniors’ advocate, but the government refuses to call it in committee and make it law. Beverly writes, “Why, after learning from the military of the abhorrent conditions in which our seniors suffered, did you proceed to do nothing other than pass legislation to protect yourself and those in a position authority from legal culpability” or any “ramifications? Where was the iron ring you promised?”
On behalf of Beverly and in the memory of those we have lost, where was the iron ring, and who is going to take responsibility for this chaos?
Calandra: Of course we take responsibility for ensuring that we have the best long-term-care system in North America. We understand the challenges that were faced during the first wave of this pandemic and even into the second wave. It’s one of the reasons why the very first people to get vaccinated were residents of long-term care.
Setting that aside, we knew in advance that we had to make some serious changes in our long-term-care system. We knew that there was a problem with staffing. In fact, one of the very first meetings I had after getting the privilege of being elected as an MPP was a PSW in my riding, Ruth Paul, who continues to text me on occasion and lets me know what’s happening. One of the things she said is we have to be organized. There’s a bill before this Legislature that would allow them to be organized. She also said to me, “We need more PSWs.” That’s why I’m so proud of the fact that we are hiring 27,000 additional PSWs so we can get to the level of care that is needed in our long-term-care homes; that’s four hours of care.
There is nothing that I can say or do that will diminish the loss that Beverly, Peter and others are facing when it comes to the loss of their loved ones—nothing. What I can make sure that I do is work with this government, make sure we work with all legislators to give people the best long-term care in North America.
Lindo: Back to be the Premier: Beverly is not the only person with questions. Bruce Thompson, who is also joining us virtually today, is the acting chair, family council for Almonte Country Haven, a 96-bed, for-profit long-term-care home in Almonte.
Bruce writes, “During the first wave we lost over 30% of our residents due to understaffing, PSWs working in more than one home, little or no PPE, no testing capabilities, no infectious disease specialists and no direction from the government.” Bruce has one ask, “We want the Ford government to implement all recommendations of the COVID-19 commission on long-term care.”
Through you, Mr. Speaker, and back to the Premier: On behalf of the residents, the staff, the caregivers and the hundreds of family members of this home will the government immediately implement all recommendations of the COVID-19 commission on long-term care?
Calandra: We are well on our way to doing just that, but Bruce raised a very good point in his email to the member. He highlighted the fact that testing was woefully inadequate in the province of Ontario. This is with what we faced during the initial phases of the pandemic: We inherited a system that could do 5,000 test a day. We knew we had to increase that, so we brought that up to 75,000 tests as day. We knew that ICU capacity was a major part of the problem with hallway health care. That is why we increased the capacity in our ICUs from 1,800 to a little over 2,300. We increased critical care beds across the province of Ontario because we knew that this was inadequate. This is what had been given to us by the previous Liberal government. We also knew there was a capacity issue, so that’s why we’re building thousands more spaces. That’s why we’re hiring 27,000 additional PSWs and 2,000 additional nurses.
Bruce is quite correct, there were a lot of things that we inherited that had to be fixed, and we will fix those.
Vax hunters picking up the government slack
Ms. Mitzie Hunter: I too want to welcome those from the Ontario Health Coalition packing the galleries today, including Michelle Jones from Scarborough. Michelle’s grandmother is in long-term care, and both Michelle and her grandmother acquired COVID-19 in November, they believe from a resident who had visited the hospital for dialysis during an outbreak at the hospital. So much for the iron ring says Michelle.
My question is to the Minister of Health. This government rolled out a vaccination plan that is not easy to use or accessible to all. The vaccine keen are finding their way, but we cannot over-rely on vax hunters to pick up the government’s slack. There are people in Ontario who face systemic barriers to health every day. Where is the plan for the Ontarians who have systemic barriers to vaccinations? Speaker, not everyone has a computer. They certainly cannot use a library computer during lockdown. Some people are vaccine hesitant or lack confidence in vaccines, and they certainly lack confidence in this government.
What is the minister’s plan to reach the people in Ontario who are eligible to get the vaccine, but face systemic barriers to getting it? How will you track individuals and provide socioeconomic data—
The Speaker: Thank you. Minister of Health.
Elliott: Thank you, Speaker, and thank you very much to the member for the question. We do have a comprehensive, three-phase plan for a vaccine rollout. We’re now in phase 2 of the plan, and I can advise that to date over 7.2 million vaccines have been delivered. We have over 5.3 million bookings for vaccines in the future. Clearly, many are finding their way through the system and aren’t finding it that difficult to negotiate.
But for those who don’t have a computer, they can make calls to our online call centre and book their vaccines that way. And we also have numerous pharmacies that are offering vaccines, both Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines. People can make appointments through their own vaccine clinics at their pharmacies.
There are many ways for people to access these vaccines. We are making sure that anyone in Ontario who wants a vaccine will be able to get one.
Hunter: Back to the minister: As your government just said, it just takes one to ignite an outbreak. The Science Table said to prioritize hot spots for four weeks to save more lives; you said no. Hot spots have some of the most vulnerable people in our communities that have a high proportion of essential workers, and they have not seen three waves. They’ve actually just seen a tsunami of one wave continuously since last year.
If the minister and this government are so confident in their plan, why not accept my request to collect sociodemographic data, including race, ethnicity, disabilities and languages spoken so that we can better track who and where the vaccine is getting to?
Tomorrow, I’ll provide amendments to Bill 283 at committee that will require the collection of race-based data and other important information collected when someone gets a vaccine while of course protecting their privacy, which you require. This will allow the government to see that this life-saving vaccine is truly equitably distributed.
Will the minister fix her bill today and support these amendments so we can better track who is receiving the vaccine?
Elliott: As the member will certainly know, we are tracking the sociodemographic information by asking people if they wish to disclose it or not. We are making a receipt of the vaccine subject to the person’s individual choice. I believe that the disclosure of this information should also be according to their own wishes and not be mandatory. Most people are providing it. Some people don’t wish to.
However, I can also speak to the issue about the hot spot areas. We did designate 50% of all of our vaccines going into hot spot areas for a two-week period with the result that we now have a 7.9% higher increase in people receiving the vaccines in hot spot areas and in the non-hot spot areas. Clearly, that’s working.
But I can also advise that the Ontario science table recommendations presented in April assumed a rate of 100,000 vaccines administered per day in a 50% hot spot and 50% per population basis for 30 days. However, in the month of May, the province will receive approximately double the number of vaccines than were originally estimated by the science advisory table, and we are confident that we will be able to roll out those vaccines in those hot spot areas to make sure that everyone who’s needs to be covered will be covered.
[AFTER A SOFTBALL ABOUT TRAINING UP NURSES…]
Sending in the troops (or not)
Mr. Tom Rakocevic: I want to welcome the members of the Ontario Health Coalition who are here in the virtual gallery today and thank them for their advocacy.
My question is for the Premier. Dorritt Paul was a mother of seven, a grandmother of 12 and a great-grandmother of 11. On Mother’s Day last year, Dorrit fell into a coma at Weston Terrace, the private long-term-care home operated by Sienna Senior Living where she was a resident. Her family only learned that Dorritt had tested positive for COVID-19 two days later. On May 16, 2020, Dorritt passed away alone, without any of her loved ones to comfort her. Dorritt’s granddaughter Tara Barrows said Sienna tried to hide the fact that the home had been experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak and had a critical shortage of staff to look after residents. Tara explained that her grandmother experienced many neglectful conditions that are, tragically, so common in many for-profit long-term-care facilities.
Tara wants to know why this government did not send Canadian Armed Forces into Weston Terrace, where 31 residents died, when they were sent into other homes experiencing similar outbreaks.
Calandra: Obviously, the Canadian Armed Forces were sent into a number of homes. I also mentioned a bit earlier how the concept of Ontario health teams was championed and brought in by the Minister of Health in order to help transform the system. We saw in a number of homes, including two in my riding, where the local health facility, Markham Stouffville Hospital, was able to come in and help, whether it was Participation House or a long-term-care facility that needed assistance.
There is no doubt that we were on the defence in the first part of this pandemic, and I’m under no illusion that I’m going to provide any comfort, in a one-minute answer, to Tara. I wish I could. I wish what she heard in a minute would give her some solace, but I know it isn’t. I know it doesn’t take away the anger and the frustration and the sadness that they feel at the loss of a loved one. But what I can do, what this government can do and what we can all do is make sure that we fix the problems that we inherited and that we give people the best long-term care in all of North America, and we will.
Rakocevic: Grace Hope’s mother is a resident of a long-term-care home. She’s fully vaccinated and is mobile with the aid of a walker, yet for the past year she has been confined to her room with none of her loved ones able to visit. Like many other seniors during the pandemic, Grace says that her mother’s mental health has been declining, and that even the warmer weather has done nothing to improve her spirits. Grace said her mother “does not deserve to spend her last days, months or years in prison.”
Grace is watching today. Can the minister tell Grace and other families who are patiently waiting to see their loved ones in long-term care when this government will make the More Than a Visitor Act into law to give essential caregivers in congregate care settings access to their loved ones so that residents like Grace’s mother don’t have to continue to suffer in isolation?
Calandra: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I understand that. That’s why the initial phase, phase 1, of the vaccination was ensure that all residents of long-term-care homes receive their vaccinations, and we’re well on our way to insuring that we do that. In addition, there are over seven million Ontarians who have been vaccinated. This is a very good effort.
A question was raised earlier with respect to Roberta Place. We saw what a variant introduced into a home can do to a population of a home even if they have been vaccinated. It is why we have been calling on the federal government to help us—begging, in fact, the federal government—to help us to close down our airports so that these international variants do not make their way into Ontario and into our long-term-care homes.
I know how difficult it is, Mr. Speaker. Believe me, I do understand how difficult it is. The members opposite are not the only ones who have friends, relatives and family in long-term-care homes. We all do. But our primary responsibility is to keep people safe and that’s what we’ll continue to do.
Covid-positive manager allowed to work at Ottawa home
Mr. Stephen Blais: My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care, who happens to also represent a riding in Ottawa. I would like thank Betty Yakimenko for coming this morning, Mr. Speaker. Betty is from Ottawa and her mother lives at the Madonna Care Community long-term-care home in Orléans. She is also the chair of the home’s family council. Madonna was one of the hardest hit homes by COVID-19. Some 47 residents and two PSWs died.
This morning, on the front page of the Ottawa Citizen, we learned that the home operator allowed a manager who tested positive for COVID-19 to come into work last April. The manager had tested positive for COVID-19 and the operator allowed them to come to work.
An inspection report from October revealed other violations, including managers not being screened before entering the home, staff not always wearing PPE, and one volunteer being encouraged to reuse their PPE.
Families have lost loved ones and they deserve justice, Mr. Speaker. Why is the Premier resisting implementing his own commission’s recommendations, and will he commit to publicly reporting on the government’s progress on implementing them?
Calandra: Of course, we called the commission of inquiry so that we could understand what some of the challenges were in the first wave with respect to our long-term- care homes. What we found, both through the commission of inquiry and through an Auditor General’s report, is a significant lack of funding by the previous government, which left us unprepared to deal with the pandemic when it hit so forcefully.
Having said that, that is why we moved very quickly, even before the pandemic, to ensure that our long-term-care system received the attention that it required. It was unacceptable to have a multi-year and decades waiting lists to get into homes. That is why we committed to building 30,000 new homes. That is why we committed to four hours of care. That is why we’re hiring 27,000 additional PSWs. That is why, as the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Colleges and Universities just mentioned, the fact that we’re hearing 2,000 new nurses.
It doesn’t take away from the pain and suffering that people are feeling, but what it does is it makes sure that the next generation does not feel the exact same pain that this one went through.
The Speaker: Supplementary question? The member for Ottawa South.
Mr. John Fraser: I would like to welcome Helen Lee from Oakville, who is here seeking justice for her mother, Foon Hay Hum, who passed away at Mon Sheong Home. She’s here with other families, families who have lost a loved one, seeking justice—justice that was denied when the Premier refused to enact the provisions of Bill 160 that would have held homes more accountable and then passed legislation to make them less accountable; justice that was denied when more residents died in the second wave than in the first; justice that was denied when an investigation into deaths from dehydration that the Premier promised didn’t happen; and justice that was denied when the Premier refused to commit to implementing the recommendations of his own long-term-care commission.
Families deserve justice. Speaker, through you: Will the Premier commit to recommendation 85 and publicly report on the progress into the recommendations of his own long-term-care commission report?
Calandra: Of course, we are acting on the recommendations, but look, we have made it very clear what we want to accomplish in long-term care. Even before we were elected, we said we had to end hallway health care. Why do we have hallway health care? Because the previous Liberal government left us with the lowest ICU capacity in North America. That is a legacy of this member and his leader. Why do we have to build 30,000 new long-term-care spaces in the province of Ontario? Because when he was in government, in the previous 15 years that the Liberals were in government, they didn’t build any. Six hundred long-term-care spaces is the legacy of the previous Liberal government, compared to 30,000 being built by this government. Five thousand tests a day they left us with; we have increased that to 75,000.
We have increased critical care by 3,000 beds. We’re hiring 27,000 additional PSWs. We’re bringing on 2,000 additional nurses. We are getting the job done, a job that should have started 15 years ago and four previous Liberal administrations in between. We will get the job done for the people of the province of Ontario, unlike that member and his leader.
“The isolation contributed to her death”
Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: My question is to the Premier. Families from every corner of the province have horror stories about long-term care under this Conservative government.
Heather McMichael from London wants the Premier to hear hers. She says: “Although my mom did not die from COVID I am convinced that the isolation contributed to her death in ... 2020. She was used to two of her daughters visiting two to three times per week and helping her with things staff didn’t have time to help her with such as cleaning her humidifier and ... helping with her mail and banking.
“Then she was confined to her room with no visitors allowed for months.”
Speaker, my question, through you, to the Premier: No family should have to go through the heartbreak of watching their loved one suffer in isolation and loneliness, and not be able to do anything about it. What are you doing to ensure that this never happens again?
Calandra: Let me just say to the honourable member and her constituent, look, I understand. I can tell you—not that it matters—that for a year, going to my father-in-law’s house every Saturday and then leaving him, a 90-year-old man; giving him his groceries and leaving, it’s not easy to do.
It’s not just the members opposite. It’s not just people—we feel this. We understand this. We get how hard it is. That’s why we’re trying so hard to get vaccines into people’s arms. When it comes to long-term care, that is why we’re fighting so hard to get 30,000 spaces, 27,000 new PSWs, 2,000 new nurses.
We have to solve this problem. This is something that should have been addressed in the decades before the pandemic. It wasn’t, and nothing I say now is going to solve that or make people feel better; I get it. But 15 years from now, when people look back, I want them to say that this government, this Legislature did something about it; and we are and we will.
Armstrong: Speaker, we learned from the first wave the horrible isolation. We have a bill called Bill 203, More Than a Visitor, that’s just languishing in committee. That’s something this government could do.
Heather and her family didn’t deserve to go through this. She says this about her mom: “She was a very social person and enjoyed meals in the dining room with other residents, going outside to enjoy the nice weather and see the gardens. I understand that she was safer in her room than eating in the dining room but I think going outside would have been safe for her. Because she was confined to a wheelchair she couldn’t get outside by herself and staff were short-staffed and overwhelmed with COVID procedures and didn’t have time to take her outdoors.”
Again, Speaker, my question to the Premier: What is this government doing to ensure that homes not only have enough staff, but have the supports they need to ensure that no family member ever again has to worry about whether or not their loved ones are isolated and are not being allowed to enjoy the outdoors?
Calandra: Look, Mr. Speaker, I get it. I understand how frustrating it is that a year after, there is still a global health and economic pandemic that we have to tackle. I know the theme this week seems to be that the opposition would like to declare victory and move on, but it is not time yet for us to do that. We have to ensure that the people of this province, including those seniors in long-term care, are kept safe.
I implore the members opposite to help us, to help us convince the federal government, first and foremost, to close down our international airports, so that these variants of concern don’t make their way back into the province of Ontario. It’s not too late. If they help us, we can stop that.
We’ve got to get more vaccines into people’s arms. We’ve done an incredible job so far, the people of this province; over seven million people have received their vaccine. There is more work to do. We will get the job done for seniors and for those in long-term care. I am confident of it, and we will not stop until we do.
The Speaker: That concludes our question period for this morning.