Survey says: Raise taxes for LTC

And the feds should establish industry standards

Good Monday morning. This is Queen’s Park Observer.

ABOVE THE FOLD

POLL WATCH — More than half of Canadians are willing to take on a rise in taxes in order to bankroll improvements in the beleaguered long-term care sector.

Ontarians are among the most willing to dip into their pocketbooks to fund it, according to a fresh public-opinion survey put out by Angus Reid this morning. Fifty-nine per cent of Ontario respondents said they would go along with a two per cent increase in their tax rates to improve care for the elderly, coming in second only to B.C. with 60 per cent support.

Another three-in-five said the federal government should be directly involved in creating standards for the industry, which is starting to return to normal after the devastation of Covid.

“But this moment of light in what has been among the darkest periods of the pandemic cannot mask a coming reckoning over how to prevent the devastating losses of life and persistent isolation residents of LTC facilities exper…