News + Events

‘I left feeling incompetent’: Grace Villa nurse reveals why she resigned after Hamilton’s worst COVID-19 outbreak

(June 16, 2021) By: Maria Iqbal, Spectator Reporter The mental-health impact of COVID-19 on long-term-care staff is “one of the untold stories of the pandemic,” says the executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition. “The staffing levels are worse than ever,” said Natalie Mehra. “We continue to hear of staff leaving in significant numbers … just because they can’t […]

EVENT: MAKE REVERA PUBLIC – Building Our Momentum

(June 17, 2021) June 23 update: A recording of the Town Hall meeting can be found here. A virtual Town Hall Meeting Tuesday, June 22nd, 7:00pm – 8:30pm EDT. Register HERE Since it’s launch in May 2020, the campaign to ‘Make Revera Public’ has been growing and gaining strength. As Revera’s ownership by the federal […]

Join A Virtual Rally Against Ford Government’s Move to Muzzle Opposition

(June 13, 2021) By: Doug Draper, Niagara At Large “So Doug Ford wants to break the constitution to up his chances of winning an election & stifle his opposition. The only other time I have been this disgusted was when Ford passed Bill 218 last fall to shield the for-profit long-term care companies from liability […]

Advocates push for more air conditioning in long-term care as heat hits Ontario

(June 5, 2021) CBC News Staff, CBC News With temperatures set to soar above 30 C in areas of the province this weekend, advocates are once again sounding the alarm about sweltering conditions inside some of Ontario’s beleaguered long-term care homes. During a heat wave last July, homes were still reeling from the first wave of the […]

Northumberland Health Coalition calling on province to reform long-term care system

(June 4, 2021) By: Linda Mackenzie-Nicholas, Bonnie Kennedy, & Roy Brady, Northumberland News Chronic underfunding and privatization of health care have had an increasingly negative impact, particularly in long-term care, as has been made painfully obvious during COVID-19. Decades of underfunding, understaffing, poor working conditions, high levels of violence and a focus on profits over […]

Peterborough letter: End for-profit long-term-care, bring in paid sick time

(June 2, 2021) Roy Brady, Bonnie Kennedy, & Linda Mackenzie-Nicholas, The Peterborough Examiner We are writing to bring your attention to an extremely important issue that has been exacerbated by a pandemic that has changed everything. This issue has been around for a long time and much has been promised but not delivered — time […]

Whether it’s public or private, we’re all paying for long-term care. It should be better

(May 31, 2021) By: Martin Regg Cohn, Toronto Star We’ve long known that long-term care is ailing because politicians prefer short-term shortcuts. In a post-pandemic world, how do we get it right? A persuasive new study on nursing homes suggests a two-step program for reform: First, the obvious part: governments must allocate more money to […]

Brampton’s abandoned healthcare system: ‘Why do we have to suffer?’

(May 31, 2021) By: Vanessa Balintec, Natasha O’Neill, & Nida Zafar, The Pointer Sangita Sharma was woken by her husband gasping for air in their Brampton home at 2:30 in the morning in early January 2013. She was confused; her husband, Harjinder Kumar Sharma, was not sick. He had come home the day before from […]

Virtual rally to demand changes to Ontario’s long-term care system

(May 28, 2021) By: Mike Baker, The Echo Haliburton County Bonnie Roe has had enough. As one of the founding members of the Haliburton-City of Kawartha Lakes Long-Term Care Coalition, Roe has spent the past 12 months advocating for local seniors and calling for much-needed improvements to both public and privately operated long-term care facilities […]

Le Manitoba continue de s’appuyer sur le système hospitalier nord-ontarien

(May 27, 2021) By: Zacharie Routhier, Miguel Lachance, ICI Radio-Canada.ca Six patients manitobains atteints de la COVID-19 ont été transférés à l’hôpital régional de Thunder Bay. PHOTO : RADIO-CANADA / CAROLINE BOURDUA Submergé par la COVID-19, le Manitoba continue de transférer des patients en Ontario. Les hôpitaux ontariens accueillent au total environ une vingtaine de patients manitobains […]

RELEASE & BRIEFING NOTE: A Critically Important Warning in New Financial Accountability Office Report: Ford Government’s Long-Term Care Plan is a House of Cards

(May 27, 2021) Toronto – The new report on long-term care from Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office “FAO” supports what the Ontario Health Coalition has been warning about and more. In the neutral language of accounting, it highlights that there is no actual plan to fund needed health care services in the Ford government’s budget. It […]

Reacting to the roadmap to end for-profit long-term care in Ontario

(May 26, 2021) By: Devon Peacock, Omny Studio Last week, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a report that outlined a roadmap to ending for-profit long-term care in Ontario. The report was commissioned by the Ontario Health Coalition and published by the CCPA. Peter Bergmanis from the London Health Coalition joins Devon Peacock to […]

Ontario’s Assistant Infrastructure Minister Defended Doug Ford’s Handling of Long-Term Care Homes. He Also Held Shares in Long-Term Care Companies.

(May 26, 2021) By: PressProgress Doug Ford’s assistant infrastructure minister is an outspoken defender of Ontario’s response to COVID-19 in long-term care homes, but he’s been less vocal about his investments in two of the province’s most controversial LTC companies. According to his most recent filing with Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner, Assistant Infrastructure Minister Stephen Crawford […]

Report urges Queen’s Park to build LTC beds as non-profits

(May 22, 2021) By: Joanne Laucius, Sudbury Star The province should make capital funding available to not-for-profit LTC operators so they can open LTC homes, says a report written by nine policy experts. Licenses for more than 30,000 LTC beds in Ontario are set to expire in 2025 and 15,000 new beds are in the […]

Fund non-profit care: report; Queen’s Park urged to shift support away from private long-term care residences

(May 21, 2021) By: Joanne Laucius, Ottawa Citizen (Print Edition) The province should make capital funding available to not-for-profit operators so they can open LTC homes, says a report by nine policy experts. Licences for more than 30,000 LTC beds in Ontario are set to expire in 2025 and 15,000 new beds are in the […]

Government shows a lack of respect

(May 20, 2021) By: Shirley Roebuck, Chatham Daily News (Print Edition) Today, I participated in the Ontario Health Coalition‘s virtual rally for long-term care homes while question period at the Ontario legislature was broadcast via Zoom and Facebook. Opposition MPPs peppered Conservative MPPs with questions about long-term care that had been submitted by LTC families. […]

REPORT: Investing in Care, Not Profit: Recommendations to Transform Long-Term Care in Ontario

(May 20, 2021) A summary of the report and the list of recommendations can be found below. Click here for the full report. Click here for media release. **A group of nine eminent policy experts are weighing in today on one of the most urgent policy debates in our province and our country. They are calling […]

Ford and Fullerton absent from virtual question period packed with LTC residents, workers and families

(May 19, 2021) By: Megan Delaire, Toronto.com Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Dr. Merrilee Fullerton make an announcement together at the Darlington Energy Complex in 2016. Both were absent from question period on May 18, as long-term-care residents, staff and families packed the virtual gallery. – Metroland file photo In a physically distanced twist on […]

Ontario Health Coalition Asking Residents To Virutally “Pack The Gallery” Of The Legislature To Pressure The Government To “Fix” Long Term Care

(May 18, 2021) By: Pamela Vanmeer, Kawartha 411 KAWARTHA LAKES-The Ontario Health Coalition is asking residents to pack the gallery of the legislature virtually to pressure the government to fix Long Term Care. They are trying to organize thousands of Ontarians to pack the Public Galleries virtually for Question Period today at 10:30 am. Here […]

Pack the Public Galleries at the Ontario Legislature

(May 18, 2021) By: 104.7 Heart FM The Ontario Health Coalition hosted a virtual event today to “Pack the Public Galleries” with people outraged over the Provinces LTC Response. ONTARIO – The Ontario Health Coalition invited everyone this morning to join a Zoom call entitled Pack the Public Galleries of the Ontario Legislature. The goal […]

RELEASE: ‘Total Disrespect’: LTC Residents, Families & Staff Incensed that Premier Ford Dodged Question Period Today While Hundreds Waited for Commitments to Improve Care

(May 18, 2021) Toronto –More than 570 families, residents, staff and supporters registered to virtually fill the galleries of the Ontario Legislature for Question Period today. Thousands more watched on the Ontario Health Coalition’s Facebook livestream. They came to hear the Ford government answer their questions and demands for vital improvements to long-term care. However, […]

Column: Every Sudburian should read long-term care report

(May 12, 2021) By: Dorothy (Dot) Klein, Timmins Daily Press A family in a long-term care home. PHOTO BY TONY CALDWELL /Postmedia Network Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission Report was made public on April 30 and can be found on the Ontario Government website. I recommend that every Ontario taxpayer read this report to fully comprehend the […]

EVENT: Pack the Public Galleries of the Ontario Legislature

(May 11, 2021) Outraged at the Ford government’s response on Long-Term Care Tuesday May 18 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. PACK THE PUBLIC GALLERIES of the ONTARIO LEGISLATURE (virtually) Use the hashtag #FordFailedSeniors We can’t fill the Legislature physically during the shutdown but we can organize thousands of Ontarians to pack the Public Galleries virtually for Question Period. […]

Doug Ford promised ‘accountability’ after last year’s horrors in long-term care. Critics say they are still waiting

(May 6, 2021) By: Rob Ferguson, Muskoka Region (Metroland Media Group) Ontario’s Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said she is not aware of any provincial investigation into what Premier Doug Ford called “disgusting” situations in long-term-care homes. – Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS It’s been almost a year since a visibly upset Premier Doug Ford […]

RELEASE, SUMMARY & ANALYSIS: Ontario Health Coalition Summary & Analysis of Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission Final Report

(May 5, 2021) A media release and the Ontario Health Coalition’s full summary & analysis of Ontario’s Long-Term COVID-19 Commission final report can be found below. Coalition Outraged at Ford Government Response to Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission: “Total Failure in Leadership, no Conscience” Toronto – Premier Doug Ford returned to the Legislature today after being […]

Will COVID-19 vaccinations bring fresh air to some Caledon seniors after months of isolation?

(May 4, 2021) By: Alexandra Heck, Caledon Enterprise The closest Inge Hoare has gotten to her 98-year-old mother, Marie Placzek, in the past year is through the window of Placzek’s room at King Nursing Home in Bolton. “She’s one of the lucky ones,” Hoare said, noting that they wouldn’t be able to have window visits […]

Ontario Care Homes Not Prepared for the Spread of the Pandemic

(May 2, 2020) By: CTV News Analysis “We can’t allow people to die & suffer with the kind of neglect we have seen over the last year. It is an absolute moral failure.” – Executive director Natalie Mehra on CTV News talking about the state of long-term care after the new COVID-19 Long-Term Care Commission […]

NATALIE MEHRA – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ONTARIO HEALTH COALITION

(May 2, 2021) By: Matt Holmes, iHeart Radio We are not going to let the Ford gov’t off the hook! “They didn’t improve staffing throughout the pandemic, care levels are the lowest they have ever been. There is so much more they could have done to protect people’s lives.” “A real vindication of what we […]

After 26 years working at a factory, he caught COVID-19 and died. Inside one Brampton family’s story of the pandemic’s devastating — and preventable — toll

(May 1, 2021) By: Sara Mojtehedzadeh, New Hamburg Independent (Metroland Media Group) Kanaiya Gandhi was the kind of dad who shared everything, the kind who spent rarely on himself so his daughters could take swimming lessons. A run for his Tim Hortons coffee typically ended with doughnuts for the whole family; he loved to ply […]

COVID-19: Here’s the situation in the Sault this week

(April 30, 2021) By: Riley Smith, SooToday.com Stock image Update: Algoma Public Health reported one further COVID case in the region on Friday evening. Cases of COVID-19 across Ontario ranged this week between a low of 3,265 and a high of 4,094. As new provincial COVID cases remain steady at slightly lower daily averages, the province is […]

Seniors languish in LTC; Time to let residents out of their prisons

(April 29, 2021) By: Sue-Ann Levy, Toronto Sun Some 99% of long-term care (LTC) and retirement home residents have been vaccinated with both doses, and yet, they’re still locked into facilities – not free to even venture outdoors with the nice weather. It’s been more than a year of loneliness and isolation for them. When […]

RELEASE: “We are outraged”: Health Coalition slams Ford government’s response to Auditor General on LTC, No responsibility taken for the among the worst death rates in the world

(April 29, 2020) The Minister of Long-Term Care’s response to yesterday’s Auditor General’s long-term care report has left LTC families and advocates livid, reported the Ontario Health Coalition. Minister Fullerton, who has never taken responsibility for the almost 4,000 residents and staff who have died from COVID-19 in Ontario’s LTC homes, claimed that the government […]

Homes ‘inhumane’; Ontario LTC still a disaster a year later

(April 28, 2021) By: Sue-Ann Levy, Toronto Sun Janice Codeluppi couldn’t hold back the tears as she spoke of the impact of personal support worker (PSW) shortages in her mom’s GTA long-term care (LTC) home in the past year. She said that in her mom’s unit there are 32 beds with only two PSWs at […]

LEVY: Time to let long-term care residents out of their prisons

(April 28, 2021) By: Sue-Ann Levy, Ottawa Sun Some 99% of long-term care (LTC) and retirement home residents have been vaccinated with both doses, and yet they’re still locked into facilities — not free to even venture outdoors with the nice weather. It’s been more than a year of loneliness and isolation for them. At […]

National long-term care home standards a priority for healthcare advocates

(April 28, 2021) Christian D’Avino, CTV News SAULT STE. MARIE — Healthcare advocates and long-term care workers staged a virtual day of action Wednesday in an effort to improve care at long-term care facilities throughout the country. The protest was organized by the Ontario Health Coalition and called on provincial and federal governments to set […]

RELEASE: Ontario Auditor General Report on COVID-19 in Ontario’s LTC Homes Supports Longstanding Calls for Real Change

(April 28, 2021) Toronto – Ontario’s Auditor General released a 107-page report today assessing the province’s response to COVID-19 in long-term care homes, listing a litany of problems that contributed to the lack of preparedness and inadequate management of the pandemic in the homes. Major issues highlighted in the report include: overcrowded homes, offloading of […]

RELEASE: OHC Raises Alarm About Ford Government’s New Emergency Order Transferring Hospital ALC Patients Without Consent into LTC and Retirement Homes

(April 28, 2021) Toronto – The Ontario Health Coalition, which has for decades advocated for an end to hospital cuts and an expansion of capacity in our public hospitals and long-term care homes, reacted with shock and opposition to today’s new emergency order made by the Ford government that will enable forced transfers of patients […]

Advocates call for national long-term care standards

(April 27, 2021) By: Doug Diaczuk. tbnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY – Following the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on long-term care in Ontario, health care and seniors advocates, family members, and workers are calling for nationalized standards to ensure a higher quality of care in homes. “We are not asking for the sky. We are […]

LEVY: Ontario LTC homes still a disaster

(April 27, 2021) By: Sue-Ann Levy, Toronto Sun Janice Codeluppi couldn’t hold back the tears as she spoke of the impact of personal support worker (PSW) shortages in her mom’s GTA long-term care (LTC) home in the past year. She said in her mom’s unit, there are 32 beds with only two PSWs at a […]

ONTARIO: Advocates call for national long-term care standards

(April 27, 2021) By: Doug Diaczuk, Sudbury.com THUNDER BAY – Following the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on long-term care in Ontario, health care and seniors advocates, family members, and workers are calling for nationalized standards to ensure a higher quality of care in homes. “We are not asking for the sky. We are […]

EVENT: Demand Our Federal and Provincial Governments Set National Standards to Improve Long-Term Care

(April 22, 2021) Join the National Day of Action Tuesday, April 27, 2021 HOW YOU CAN JOIN: The Day of Action will roll across Canada through the different time zones. On Tuesday April 27 Join our Facebook livestream in Ontario at 12:00 p.m. here: https://www.facebook.com/ontariohealth Or join the Facebook livestream at https://www.facebook.com/Canadians4LTC to watch the rolling livestreams hosted by […]

Are cancer surgeries ‘elective’ or life-saving? Some awaiting operations are in limbo due to COVID-19

(April 17, 2021) The Ontario government’s directive to hospitals to perform only emergency and life-saving surgeries has left people getting certain types of cancer treatments in limbo because they say their surgeries are considered elective. Lisa Scott’s 33-year-old daughter Vanessa Scott Fisher was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago. She was scheduled to have […]

Chris Selley: Doug Ford’s Ontario has utterly lost the plot in closing down schools

(April 14, 2021) It is testament to Ontarians’ orderly and tolerant ways that the province’s parents have yet to set any government buildings ablaze. On Sunday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce published a letter to his constituents assuring them that in-person classes would resume for their children after this week’s spring break, except in areas where local public […]

RESOURCES & ANALYSIS: COVID-19 Resources & Analysis of the Ford Government’s Response

This page contains the following information: Tracking report on COVID-19 outbreaks in health care settings Tracking report on COVID-19 outbreaks in non-health care settings List of COVID-19 assessment centres COVID-19 roundups Additional resources Media releases, statements, & campaigns Analysis & backgrounder of Ontario’s March 25 economic statement Tracking Report on COVID-19 Outbreaks in Health […]

RELEASE: Record Case Numbers, COVID-19 Third Wave Emergency: Ontarians Need Clearer Message, Stronger Protections- Coalition

(April 12, 2021) Toronto — Yesterday was the worst day for the spread of the pandemic so far. In one 24-hour period, 4,456 Ontarians were diagnosed with COVID-19. In that single day, 21 lives were lost to COVID-19. The 3rd wave is devastating, deadly, and it is overwhelming our health care system. Yesterday’s 4,456 new […]

Toronto is struggling to fill vaccine appointments for seniors. Why Ontario’s rollout is missing people in COVID-19 hot spots

(April 03, 2021) By: Olivia Bowden, The Hamilton Spectator This is a snippet of the full paywalled article. A link to the full article can be found below. Premier Doug Ford conceded recently he was “kind of shocked” to see vaccine appointments not being filled by older adults in the province. But for physicians and […]

Western University deals with another outbreak amid calls to expand vaccine rollout

(April 05, 2021) By: Bryan Bicknell, CTV News London Reporter LONDON, ONT. — Less than a week after a COVID-19 outbreak at Essex Hall was declared over, there is another outbreak at the Western University residence. The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is reporting a small number of cases at the residence. But the outbreak, declared […]

Advocates want LTC residents let out of their rooms

(April 08, 2021) By: Todd Hambleton, Cornwall Standard-Freeholder (Print Edition) Long-term care facility residents, their families and advocates were recently demanding an immediate end to lock-in and isolation policies they say have created a desperate situation and a human rights issue. “We’re extremely concerned about what we’re hearing right across Ontario,” said Natalie Mehra, executive […]

Canada must radically reform disastrous long-term care system

(April 01, 2021) By: Karl Nerenberg Long-term care for the elderly is the weak sibling of Canada’s health system. If we did not know that previously, the COVID-19 pandemic has proven it conclusively. During the first wave of the pandemic last spring, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) reported that among a group of OECD countries, […]

Vaccinated seniors get COVID-19, show no symptoms

(April 01, 2021) By: Wayne Lowrie, Brockville Recorder & Times (Print Edition) Despite being vaccinated against COVID-19, 10 residents of the Rideau Ferry Country Home have tested positive for the virus but all are asymptomatic, according to the retirement home. Amy Morrow, director of care and general manager at the 44-bed home, credited the vaccine […]

HPE region sees 32 new COVID-19 cases in single day

(April 01, 2021) By: Derek Baldwin, Belleville Intelligencer (Print Edition) A third wave of COVID-19 is rising steeply in Ontario, raising concerns for essential workers in workplaces, schools and childcare facilities, says a new report by the Ontario Health Coalition. The organization said it is tracking the spread of the virus and variants of concern […]

Many long term care residents have not left their room for over a year

(March 31, 2021) By: Tyler Brownbridge, Windsor Star Many people in Ontario’s long term care homes have been living in isolation for over a year. Despite government promises to spend your tax dollars on more and better, the situation for residents in LTC has never been worse. On the same day that a new report […]

Ontario Health Coalition Calling on the Province to Let LTC Home Residents go Outside

(March 30, 2021) By: 104.7 Heart FM Almost every single LTC home resident in the Province is vaccinated and yet, they are still not allowed outside to enjoy the sunshine or experience some fresh air. ONTARIO – The Ontario Health Coalition is calling on the Ford Government to let residents of long term care homes […]

Long-term care residents beg to go outside after year-long COVID-19 confinement

(March 30, 2021) By: Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press Friends and family members of residents at Extendicare Guildwood in Toronto visit their loved ones through windows, on June 12, 2020. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) Residents of Ontario’s long-term care homes begged on Tuesday to be allowed outside, saying anti-pandemic restrictions that have confined them indoors for more than […]

LTC residents beg for freedom to go outside

(March 30, 2021) By: Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press TORONTO — Residents of Ontario’s long-term care homes begged on Tuesday to be allowed outside, saying anti-pandemic restrictions that have confined them indoors for more than a year make no sense given almost all have now been vaccinated. Some compared their situations to solitary confinement, and […]

Many long term care residents have not left their room for over a year

(March 31, 2021) By: Donald Macdonald, Sudbury Star Many people in Ontario’s long term care homes have been living in isolation for over a year. Despite government promises to spend your tax dollars on more and better, the situation for residents in LTC has never been worse. On the same day that a new report […]

LTC residents trapped; Many haven’t left their room in a year

(March 31, 2021) By: Liz Braun, Ottawa Sun (Print Edition) Many people in Ontario’s long-term care homes have been living in isolation for more than a year. On the same day that a new report came down about Canada’s terrible track record with LTC deaths during COVID-19 – we’re essentially the worst among wealthy nations […]

Residents of LTC demand freedoms

(March 31, 2021) By: Colin Perkel, London Free Press (Print Edition) TORONTO Residents of Ontario’s long-term care homes begged on Tuesday to be allowed outside, saying anti-pandemic restrictions that have confined them indoors for more than a year make no sense given almost all have now been vaccinated. Some compared their situations to solitary confinement, […]

Ontario seniors stuck inside long-term care want to be let out

(March 31, 2021) By: Tina Yazdani Though more than 90 per cent of Ontario long-term care residents have been vaccinated and cases inside homes have dropped to near-zero, most living in care are still being forced to stay inside – and they are demanding to be let out. WATCH: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/03/30/ontario-seniors-stuck-inside-long-term-care-want-to-be-let-out/ Advocates and residents say the […]

Local COVID in sixth day of decline

(March 30, 2021) By: Wayne Lowrie, Brockville Recorder This handout file illustration image obtained Feb. 27, 2020 courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the coronavirus, COVID-19. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /Centers for Disease Control and Prevention While the third wave was pushing Ontario’s […]

More beds coming as system tackles 5-year wait lists for long-term care

(March 31, 2021) By: Kate Bueckert, CBC News The wait to get into a long-term care home in Waterloo-Wellington can take between months to years for some people. The province recently announced an extra 281 beds for Waterloo region in the coming years. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) A new report says the average wait time for a room […]

After a year, let LTC residents out of their rooms: advocates

(April 7, 2021) By: Todd Hambleton, The Intelligencer Alfred Borg, 83, during a lighter moment during an online media conference on Tuesday. Photo on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in Cornwall, Ont. Todd Hambleton/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network PHOTO BY TODD HAMBLETON /Todd Hambleton/Standard-Freeholder Long-term care facility residents, their families and advocates were recently demanding an immediate end to […]

REPORT: Briefing Report: Investigating Real Registered Nurse Staffing Levels in Ontario’s Long-Term Care Homes

(April 7, 2021) While acuity levels in Ontario’s LTC homes have risen for decades, daily hands-on care levels have been generally static and even have declined over the last 14 years. Shortages of daily hands-on care staff, including RNs and PSWs were significant and problematic before the pandemic, but have worsened through the COVID-19 pandemic. […]

Call for LTC inquiry

(April 5, 2021) By: Natali Trivuncic, Toronto Star The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), the hospital division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE) held a virtual conference to review wait times for long-term care in northwestern Ontario, hospital overcrowding […]

National standards needed in long-term care

(March 30, 2021) By: Marie DellaVedova, The Sault Star According to many medical and scientific experts, we have now entered the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the first two waves approximately 4,000 people died in long-term care homes in Ontario. The pandemic experience for long-term care residents in Canada has been especially brutal. […]

RELEASE: Health Coalition’s New Report Tracks Alarming Spread of COVID-19 in Ontario’s Third Wave: Hardest Hit Industries

(March 30, 2021) As the curve of the third wave rises steeply, the Ontario Health Coalition released its new report today Ontario’s Reopening and the Third Wave: The Spread of COVID-19 in Workplaces & Schools tracking the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces, schools and childcare through February and March to date. On March 28, Ontario […]

Human rights probe sought into long-term care

(March 27, 2021) By: Ronald Zajac, Brockville Recorder & Times (Print Edition) A coalition of groups is calling for a human rights inquiry into what they call Ontario’s systematic discrimination against the elderly in access to health care. At a virtual media event earlier this week, the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Ontario Council of […]

Hesitant long-term care staff asked to give vaccine a shot

(March 27, 2021) By: Tyler Brownbridge, Windsor Star Ontario will offer staff working in nursing homes another chance to get a COVID-19 vaccine but stopped short of mandatory vaccination as a condition of employment. “Certainly the staff in long-term care were really the first group to be prioritized for the vaccines… If you’re first in […]

Advocates call for investigation into ageism in provincial health system

(March 26, 2021) By: Ian Macalpine, Kingston Whig-Standard (Print Edition) The Ontario Health Coalition, the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, the hospital division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly are calling on the Ontario Human Rights Commission for a probe into what the groups call “systemic ageism […]

‘Terrible inadequacy of care’ needs human rights inquiry

(March 26, 2021) By: Todd Hambleton, Cornwall Standard-Freeholder (Print Edition) Representatives of several groups say the elderly in Cornwall and eastern Ontario, and all across the province, are having their human rights violated by being denied access to essential health care. Advocates including Michael Hurley, CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE) president, are urging […]

The Ford government says Brampton is getting a new hospital. The details aren’t so clear

(March 26, 2021) Nick Boisvert, CBC News After enduring years of struggles and seeing its local health care system stretched beyond its limits, relief could finally be coming to Brampton in the form of a brand new hospital. Maybe. It depends on who you ask. The provincial government included in its 2021 budget a commitment […]

Sims: Vaccination tweak intended to stamp out stubborn outbreaks at seniors’ homes

(March 25, 2021) By: Jane Sims, London Free Press A little tweak is coming to the local vaccination plan in a week or two that makes loads of sense and could finally end the persistent outbreaks showing up in seniors’ home. “Our hope is within the next one to two weeks that we will be […]

Unions and advocacy groups call for inquiry into long-term care

(March 25, 2021) By: Nick Seebruch, Seaway News ONTARIO – A coalition of unions and advocacy groups are calling for an inquiry into Ontario’s long-term care sector, and the treatment of long-term care residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. “COVID-19 has shone a harsh light on Ontario health care’s systemic ageism in the treatment of the […]

Long waits, COVID toll blamed on ‘ageism’in Ontario health care

(March 25, 2021) By: Jonathan Juha, London Free Press With Southwestern Ontario seniors waiting as long as four years for long-term care beds, it’s time for an inquiry into “ageism” in the province’s health-care system, a coalition of health, labour and seniors’advocates say. The group, including the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), Ontario Council of Hospital […]

Long waits, COVID toll blamed on ‘ageism’ in Ontario health care

(March 25, 2021) By: Jonathan Juha, Stratford Beacon-Herald LONDON With Southwestern Ontario seniors waiting as long as four years for long-term care beds, it’s time for an inquiry into “ageism” in the province’s health-care system, a coalition of health, labour and seniors’advocates say. The group, including the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), Ontario Council of Hospital […]

Unvaccinated staff source of outbreaks; Positive COVID cases at seniors and longterm care homes not among residents

(March 25, 2021) By: Jane Sims, Stratford Beacon-Herald (Print Edition) A little tweak is coming to the local vaccination plan in a week or two that makes loads of sense and could finally end the persistent outbreaks showing up in seniors’ homes. “Our hope is within the next one to two weeks that we will […]

Loved ones worried about low staff vaccination rates at nursing homes

(March 25, 2021) By: Yahoo News An average of only 65 per cent of long-term care staff working in Ottawa long-term care homes have received vaccinations against COVID-19, a survey by CBC reveals, leaving residents in some facilities to face further isolation and confinement as homes grapple to contain outbreaks, mainly involving staff. The low […]

Spotlight on Brampton: HealthCare System Neglected for Too Long

(March 24, 2021) By: Mansoor Tanweer, Yahoo News Natalie Mehra is the executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, a non-profit network of grassroots community organizations. While she advocates for better health care across the province, Brampton is of particular interest to her. “For decades now, the continuum of care from hospital care to long-term […]

‘Systemic ageism’ impacting COVID-19 care in southwestern Ontario: Advocacy groups

(March 24, 2021) By: Sean Irvine, CTV News LONDON, ONT. — Southwestern Ontario residents are being encouraged to back a call for a human rights inquiry into ageism as it relates to COVID-19. Multiple groups say chronic provincial government cuts to hospital beds, and a lengthy waiting list to access long-term care (LTC), has led […]

‘Impossibly long’: LTC waitlists, age discrimination among concerns in request for public inquiry

(March 24, 2021) By: Brittany Rosen, Global News Several Ontario unions representing health-care workers are calling for a public inquiry into the province’s hospitals and long-term care homes. The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), the hospital division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Advoacy Centre […]

Call for human rights inquiry on discrimination for elderly population reaches Windsor

(March 24, 2021) By: CBC News Staff, CBC News Health-care advocates and unions are calling for an Ontario Human Rights Commission inquiry into what it calls systemic discrimination against elderly patients in hospital and long-term care homes across the province. One of those who have witnessed that discrimination first-hand in Windsor-Essex is Katrina Simonato. Her mother lives […]

‘Pleas from the elderly can no longer fall on deaf ears’ (UPDATED WITH SAH COMMENTS)

(March 22, 2021) Natalie Mehra, Ontario Health Coalition executive director, says that in Sault Ste. Marie alone, wait times for long-term care homes range from 124 days to 2,088 days. JEFFREY OUGLER/POSTMEDIA The Ontario Human Rights Commission is being asked to probe “years of systemic ageism” in Ontario’s health system. The Ontario Health Coalition, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), […]

RELEASE: Ontario Budget: Health Coalition is Watching for Sufficient Health Funding, Strings Attached in For-Profit LTC & A Stop to the Ford Government’s Privatization of Health Care

(March 24, 2021) Toronto – The Health Coalition said today that the funding numbers for health care in the budget are going to look huge of course, due to the pandemic, but the Coalition will be watching to make sure that funding is indeed enough. Equally important to the amount of funding, are strings attached […]

Group calling for human rights inquiry as province’s long-term care waitlist grows

(March 23, 2021) By: DurhamRadioNews.com A group is calling for a formal inquiry into alleged age discrimination in Ontario hospitals and long-term care settings. The Advocacy Centre for Elderly (ACE), Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) are jointly asking the Ontario Human Rights Commission to investigate. The groups accuse the […]

‘Pleas from the elderly can no longer fall on deaf ears’; Groups call on Ontario Human Rights Commission to probe ‘years of systemic ageism’ in health care

(March 23, 2021) By: Jeffrey Ougler, Sault Star (Print Edition) The Ontario Human Rights Commission is being asked to probe “years of systemic ageism” in Ontario’s health system. The Ontario Health Coalition, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), the hospital division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, […]

Women don’t choose low-paying jobs; society just doesn’t value our work

(March 23, 2021) By: Suzanne Rent, Halifax Examiner 1. Nurse recruitment during the pandemic is challenging, but going reasonably well Nurse Suzette MacLeod administers the COVID-19 vaccine to elder Patsy Paul-Martin of Millbrook First Nation at the Feb. 24 vaccination clinic. Photo: Communications Nova Scotia Jennifer Henderson reports on the recruitment of retired or inactive […]

No federal funding for long-term care homes that don’t follow national standards, Canadian advocates demand

(March 23, 2021) By: Nebal Snan, The Telegram Although Nova Scotia had a strong overall response to the pandemic, flaws in the long-term care system cost lives, with about 86 per cent of deaths from COVID-19 happening in long-term care. Pictured is the Northwood Halifax campus in September, 2020. – Tim Krochak/File Health-care advocates across […]

Advocates Asking the Human Rights Commission for a Ground-Breaking Probe

(March 22, 2021) By: Sault Online Advocates asking the Human Rights Commission for a ground-breaking probe into years of systemic ageism in Ontario’s health system are urging Sault Ste. Marie residents to get behind their call for an inquiry. The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) the hospital division of […]

Group calls for inquiry into Ontario health care’s ‘systemic discrimination’ against elderly

(March 22, 2021) By: Arron Pickard, Sudbury.com Natalie Mehra is the executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition. (File) Canadians like to be proud of the country’s health-care system and to believe everyone has equal access to it, but when it comes to the elderly in Ontario, that is not the situation, said a group […]

Advocates call for inquiry to address ageism in Ontario health care

(March 22, 2021) By: Doug Diaczuk, tbnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY – The Ontario Health Coalition, along with elderly advocates and health care unions are calling on the Ontario Human Rights Commission to launch a public inquiry into what it says has been decades of systemic ageism in Ontario’s health care system. The Ontario Council of Hospital […]

Groups Demand Inquiry Into Seniors’ Care

(March 22, 2021) By: Colin Redston, Country 105 Hush Naidoo / Unsplash Healthcare advocates want an investigation of alleged discrimination against elderly patients in hospitals and long-term care. The Ontario Health Coalition, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, and lawyers from Goldblatt Partners laid out their complaints in a virtual news conference. They’re […]

Singh tables motion to end for-profit long-term care as calls to reform system build

(March 22, 2021) By: Janet E Silver, iPolitics A worker waves from inside Grace Villa in Hamilton on Dec. 5, 2020, during a rally in support of workers inside the long-term care home. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has introduced a motion to end for-profit long-term care by 2030. (John Rennison/Hamilton Spectator) As the list of […]

Peterborough Health Coalition invites public as long-term care deaths focus of Facebook event

(March 20, 2021) Click here for original article

RELEASE, BRIEFING NOTE & LEGAL OPINION: Advocates Representing More Than 1 Million Canadians Call For National Standards to Improve Quality, Accountability and Take Profit Out of Long-Term Care

(March 22, 2021) Click here for the legal opinion on national standards. The media release and briefing note can be found below. Legal Opinion on National Standards Media Release Ottawa/Across Canada – Today, advocates representing more than a million Canadians came together to demand that the federal government and provinces work together to establish national […]

Human rights inquiry into senior care ‘long overdue’

(March 20, 2021) By: Michael Lee, North Bay Nugget (Print Edition) Health-care advocates are calling for a public inquiry into human rights discrimination against the elderly over access to care in hospitals and long-term care. The push by the Ontario Health Coalition, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, which serves as the hospital division of the […]

Coalition claiming discrimination against Ontario’s elderly

(March 20, 2021) By: Yahoo! News Canada Health advocates across the province are calling on the Ontario Human Rights Commissioner to conduct a formal inquiry into the discrimination against the elderly in access to and levels of care in hospitals and long-term care homes. As part of their campaign, the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) partnered […]

Healthcare group wants human rights inquiry into “systematic discrimination” against elderly

(March 19, 2021) By: Greg Bowman, My North Bay Now (Stock image via Pixabay.com) A healthcare group is demanding the Ontario Human Rights Commission to open a public inquiry on discrimination against the elderly in access to healthcare, as well as the various levels of care. The partnership includes the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Ontario Council […]

Human rights inquiry ‘long overdue’ regarding the elderly and health care — advocates

(March 19, 2021) By: BayToday Staff There are calls for a public inquiry on human rights discrimination against the elderly when it come to access to — and levels of — care in hospitals and long-term care. Stock image. Advocates for the elderly claim years of systemic ageism in health policies have contributed to long-term […]

450 new, upgraded LTC beds get funding

(March 19, 2021) By: Jonathan Juha and Dan Brown, London Free Press (Print Edition) The London region is getting nearly 450 new or renovated longterm care home spaces as part of a $933 million provincewide investment by the Ontario government for such projects. Two among 80 funded projects provincewide are in London and another in […]

Unions, advocates for seniors call for inquiry into discrimination against elderly in health care

(March 18, 2021) By: Saira Peesker, CBC News Ross Ha waves goodbye to his 88-year-old mother on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 after the Rose of Sharon Korean Long Term Care home introduced new visitation processes. (Sam Nar/CBC) (Sam Nar/CBC) A coalition of health-care advocates and union groups is calling on the Ontario Human Rights Commission to conduct […]

Ontario groups call for inquiry into ‘systemic discrimination’ against seniors

(March 18, 2021) By: Maria Iqbal, The Hamilton Spectator Ontario advocacy groups and unions are demanding a formal inquiry into older residents being denied adequate access to health care — which they say has only worsened in the pandemic. In a campaign launched Tuesday, the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) and the Advocacy […]

Province funding 450 new, upgraded long-term care beds in London, Elgin

(March 18, 2021) By: Robin Harvey, St. Thomas Times-Journal The London region is getting nearly 450 new or renovated long-term care home spaces as part of a $933 million provincewide investment by the Ontario government for such projects. Two among 80 funded projects provincewide are in London and another in Port Stanley. In the city, […]

‘Harsh light’ on problem; Groups see worrying trend of seniors ‘pushed’ into poor care

(March 18, 2021) By: Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Sun (Print Edition) Critics are calling for a human rights inquiry, saying the transfer of elderly patients into retirement homes and converted hotels to free up hospital beds has become a worrying trend in Ontario. Among facilities cited during a press conference by the Advocacy Centre for the […]

When COVID-19 strikes workplaces, what does real transparency look like? Why disclosure is rare, but revealing

(March 18, 2021) By: Tavia Grant, The Globe and Mail Workers head to the main security gate at Maple Lodge Farms’s poultry-processing plant in Brampton, Ont. Throughout the pandemic, the facility has kept running even as Brampton became of Canada’s top COVID-19 hotspots. FRED LUM/THE GLOBE AND MAIL The production line at Maple Lodge Farms […]

Ontario’s PSW shortage is impacting people living with disabilities in Waterloo region

(March 18, 2021) By: CBC News A local advocate says PSW work is crucial and helps facilitate “someone else’s citizenship and their ability to participate in the community.” (iStock) The shortage of personal support workers (PSWs) in the province in not only impacting people living in long-term care in Waterloo region, but people living with disabilities in […]

Years of Systemic Ageism in Health Policies Contributed to More Than 280 Ottawa Long-term Care Residents Dying of COVID-19; Ontario Human Rights Inquiry Needed Author of the article:

(March 17, 2021) By: Financial Post OTTAWA, Ontario — Years of systemic ageism in Ontario’s health system that treats the elderly as though their right to care is lesser than others contributed to more than 280 Ottawa long-term care residents dying from COVID-19 in the last year, say advocates who yesterday asked the Human Rights […]

Health coalition wants formal inquiry into poor health care treatment of the elderly

(March 17, 2021) By: MidlandToday Staff (File photo) The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) said the poor treatment of the elderly in Ontario hospitals and long-term care homes has gone on long enough. The OHC is pushing to have a formal inquiry into what it says is the “systemic discrimination based on age against the elderly […]

ADVOCATES CALL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS INQUIRY INTO ‘DISCRIMINATION’ DENYING HOSPITAL CARE TO LONG-TERM-CARE RESIDENTS IN ONTARIO

(March 17, 2021) By: Miriam Katawazi A man protests outside the Tendercare Living Centre long-term-care facility during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scarborough, Ont., on Tuesday, December 29, 2020. This LTC home has been hit hard by the coronavirus during the second wave. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette Advocates are calling for a human rights inquiry into […]

Ontario Health Coalition urges formal inquiry into poor care of elderly

(March 17, 2021) By: NewmarketToday Staff File photo The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) said the poor treatment of the elderly in Ontario hospitals and long-term care homes has gone on long enough. The OHC is pushing to have a formal inquiry into what it says is the “systemic discrimination based on age against the elderly […]

Group wants to take Seniors issues to Human Rights Tribunal

(March 17, 2021) By: 96.1 Renfrew Today Because the elderly have greater difficulty in advocating for themselves, a coalition of three groups are combining forces to do it for them. The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Advocacy Centre for Elderly (ACE) are calling on the Ontario Human […]

Transitional care trend cited as one more way elderly being shortchanged by health system

(March 17, 2021) By: Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen Greystone Village Retirement Home was transformed into a transitional care unit, overseen by Bruyère hospital and managed by a private company. The company says it works with hospitals to improve patient outcomes and “provide a seamless transition from hospital stay to in-home care.” PHOTO BY ERROL MCGIHON /Errol McGihon […]

Advocates Call for Landmark Ontario Human Rights Commission Inquiry into Discrimination and Denial of Needed Health Care for the Elderly

(March 16, 2021) By: Financial Post TORONTO — Ontario’s Human Rights Commission today is being urged to undertake what could be a landmark systemic public inquiry into age discrimination in the provision of health care in the province. In their letter (http://bit.ly/OHRC-letter-210316) to the Commission, the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Canadian Union of Public […]

Call for human rights inquiry into health-care ‘discrimination’ of elderly

(March 16, 2021) By: CBC News The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions and the Ontario Health Coalition say the province’s policy of ‘de-hospitalizing; the health-care system and the underfunding of long-term care have had a ‘disproportionately negative effect’ on older people. (Shaun Best/Reuters – image credit) Three groups have […]

Advocates urge Ontario human rights chief to probe ‘discrimination’ denying hospital care to long-term-care residents

(March 16, 2021) By: Michele Henry, Toronto Star Seniors advocates across Ontario are calling on the province’s human rights watchdog to probe “systemic discrimination” at the heart of a health-care system that has, during COVID, quietly and “coercively” denied hospital care to the elderly. The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, Ontario Health Coalition and Ontario Coalition for […]

Call for human rights inquiry into health-care ‘discrimination’ of elderly

(March 16, 2021) By: Julie Ireton, CBC News Three groups have teamed to call on the Ontario Human Rights Commission to investigate the “systemic discrimination” of elderly people seeking health care. The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions and the Ontario Health Coalition are holding a news conference at 11 a.m. ET […]

Groups seek Ontario human rights inquiry into discrimination against elderly in health system

(March 16, 2021) By: Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen The pandemic has highlighted what has long been clear, say groups representing care workers, seniors and their families: Ontario’s health system discriminates against the elderly. The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, the Ontario Health Coalition and the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions are asking Ontario’s Human Rights […]

Advocates urge Ontario human rights chief to probe ‘discrimination’ denying hospital care to long-term-care residents

Call for human rights inquiry into health-care ‘discrimination’ of elderly

(March 16, 2021) By: Julie Ireton, CBC News The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions and the Ontario Health Coalition say the province’s policy of ‘de-hospitalizing; the health-care system and the underfunding of long-term care have had a ‘disproportionately negative effect’ on older people. (Shaun Best/Reuters) Three groups have teamed to call […]

Doug Ford’s ‘Director Of Pandemic Response’ Was a Private Health Lobbyist For Shoppers Drug Mart

(March 16, 2021) By: PressProgress The Ford’s government’s “Director of Pandemic Response” is a former private health lobbyist with a firm representing Shoppers Drug Mart and other companies seeking COVID-19 related contracts. Emily Beduz became the Ministry of Health’s “Director of Pandemic Response” in October 2020 after working as a senior policy advisor for the Ministry, starting […]

Advocates call for human rights inquiry into ‘discrimination’ denying hospital care to long-term-care residents in Ontario

(March 16, 2021) By: Miriam Katawazi, CTV News A man protests outside the Tendercare Living Centre long-term-care facility during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scarborough, Ont., on Tuesday, December 29, 2020. This LTC home has been hit hard by the coronavirus during the second wave. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette TORONTO — Advocates are calling for a […]

Groups seek Ontario human rights inquiry into discrimination against elderly in health system

(March 16, 2021) By: Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen Natalie Mehra is executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition. PHOTO BY JOHN LAPPA /Postmedia The pandemic has highlighted what has long been clear, say groups representing care workers, seniors and their families: Ontario’s health system discriminates against the elderly. The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, the Ontario Health […]

LETTER & EVENTS: Call for Human Rights Inquiry Into Systemic Discrimination Against the Elderly in Ontario Hospitals and Long-Term Care

(March 16, 2021) Click here for a link to the letter to the Ontario Human Rights Commissioner. The Ontario Health Coalition, the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly & CUPE/OCHU are calling on the Ontario Human Rights Commissioner to conduct a formal Inquiry into the human rights discrimination against the elderly in access to and levels […]

NATALIE MEHRA – ONTARIO HEALTH COALITION

(March 14, 2021) By: Matt Holmes, iHeart Radio Click here for the radio interview

Cases rise as variants surge; 18 more people die – but none in long-term care

(March 13, 2021) By: Antonella Artuso, Toronto Sun (Print Edition) There were 1,371 new cases of COVID-19 and 18 more deaths reported Friday. Provincial modelling released this week warned that numbers would likely rise over the next few weeks as variants of concern (VOC) became the more dominant strains. Testing confirmed 49 more cases of […]

Reader letter: Too many empty promises on fixing long-term care

(March 13, 2021) By: Windsor Star The Ontario government has done nothing but offer empty promises and rhetoric in response to the absolute chaos that is happening long-term care homes across the province. A recent story in a major Canadian newspaper indicated some say it’s time to shut down for-profit long term care homes. There […]

Empty promises to protect seniors

(March 12, 2021) By: Ken Brown, Windsor Star The Ontario government has done nothing but offer empty promises and rhetoric in response to the absolute chaos that is happening in long-term care homes across the province. A recent story in a major Canadian newspaper indicated some say it’s time to shut down for-profit long term […]

RELEASE & REPORT: Almost 4,000 Dead in Long-Term Care as We Approach End of Wave 2: Wave 2 Deaths Exceed Wave I

(March 12, 2021) Toronto – As the devastation of the second wave of COVID-19 abates, we are left with certainty that Ontario failed to adequately prepare its health care setting despite months of warning. The Ontario Health Coalition has been tracking COVID-19 outbreaks in health care settings since mid-March, and released a new report today […]

Why The Problem of Privatization in Long-Term Care Goes Beyond Corporate Ownership

(March 11, 2021) By: Zaid Noorsumar, Press Progress The privatization of long-term care in Canada has been a major focus of political talking points amidst the tragic losses of life during the pandemic, as residents have died at a higher rate in for-profit homes (a pattern consistent with decades of research demonstrating a link between poorer quality […]

Why The Problem of Privatization in Long-Term Care Goes Beyond Corporate Ownership

(March 11, 2021) By: Zaid Noorsumar, PressProgress The privatization of long-term care in Canada has been a major focus of political talking points amidst the tragic losses of life during the pandemic, as residents have died at a higher rate in for-profit homes (a pattern consistent with decades of research demonstrating a link between poorer quality and […]

Coronavirus: Canada marks 1 year since 1st long-term care death

(March 8, 2021) By: Global News Monday marks one year since the first COVID-19 death of a resident living inside of one of Canada’s long-term care homes. It happened in B.C., but as Morganne Campbell reports, in Ontario many are also reflecting on the year that was and say the province is far from a […]

‘Maddening’: Faster Ontario Vaccine Rollout May Have Saved These Lives

(March 7, 2021) By: Emma Paling, HuffPost Ian McMahon and his 10 siblings felt terrified as they watched the first wave of COVID-19 devastate nursing homes across Ontario in spring 2020. But no one got infected at the Windsor, Ont. home where their father, George Arthur McMahon Sr., lived. They celebrated George’s 87th birthday in […]

LTC coalition passes declaration to ‘fix’ long-term care in Canada

(March 5, 2021) By: Mike Baker, Yahoo News The percentage of long-term care COVID-19 deaths in Canada is the highest in the world, Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, told a group of around 50 Haliburton area residents earlier this month. Speaking during a town hall forum hosted by the Haliburton-City of […]

Pilot pharmacy program to deliver COVID vaccine

(March 5, 2021) By: Antonella Artuso, Toronto Sun Ontario is moving up its vaccination timelines and beginning a pilot inoculation program at some pharmacies but many questions about when and where people will get their shots remain unanswered. “We’re recalibrating our timelines now because of the news with respect to (newly-approved) AstraZeneca and the vaccines […]

Long-term care overhaul needed before system ‘runs out of runway’

(March 5, 2021) By: Ellwood Shreve, Stratford Beacon-Herald The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the devastating impact chronic staff shortages in long-term care have had on residents, says the CEO of a provincial umbrella group for Ontario care homes. Responding to a virtual protest organized by the Ontario Health Coalition Wednesday that gave voice to frustrated […]

More than 600 Peel residents have died from COVID-19, most lived in LTC and retirement homes

(March 5, 2021) By: Sabrina Gamrot, BramptonGuardian.com Peel Region is an identified Ontario COVID-19 infection hot spot, specifically among those under the age of 35. However, the highest percentage of deaths are not in that age group. According to Peel Public Health’s COVID-19 dashboard, the median age of those who have died is 85, despite […]

Activists at virtual protest slam province over long-term care home ‘crisis’

(March 4, 2021) By: Ellwood Shreve, The Sun Times Speaking with her father is often a heartbreaking experience for Lucinda Allaer. The 88-year-old resident of Fairfield Park in Wallaceburg will beg his daughter to get him out of the nursing home, where he’s been isolated for weeks while officials work to curb a devastating COVID-19 […]

County supports long-term care changes

(March 4, 2021) By: Joseph Quigley, Yahoo News County council agreed to support a movement for improvements at long-term care (LTC) homes, though disagreed with local advocates’ desire to end for-profit homes. Council voted to write a letter of support for the Haliburton-CKL (City of Kawartha Lakes) Long-Term Care Coalition. The advocacy group is joining […]

C-K long-term care reps participate in virtual protest

(March 4, 2021) By: Jenna Cocullo, The Chatham Voice Five local health coalitions continued their efforts to transform Ontario’s long-term care home policies and funding structure with a virtual protest held on Wednesday afternoon. Chatham-Kent long-term care (LTC) representatives and family members of LTC residents shared stories from the front lines. The event was organized […]

Activists at virtual protest slam province over long-term care home ‘crisis’

(March 4, 2021) By: Ellwood Shreve, Windsor Star Speaking with her father is often a heartbreaking experience for Lucinda Allaer. The 88-year-old resident of Fairfield Park in Wallaceburg will beg his daughter to get him out of the nursing home, where he’s been isolated for weeks while officials work to curb a devastating COVID-19 outbreak […]

New vaccine, new priority age group

(March 4, 2021) By: Antonella Artuso, Ottawa Sun Ontarians aged 60 to 64 are the target audience for the AstraZeneca vaccine, Solicitor General Sylvie Jones said. “We have a plan that will involve having individuals over the age of 60 to have access to the AstraZeneca (shot),” Jones said Wednesday. “Because as (the National Advisory […]

Personal stories back health coalition call to tackle long-term care crisis

(March 4, 2021) By: Ellwood Shreve, Sarnia Observer Speaking with her father is often a heartbreaking experience for Lucinda Allaer. The 88-year-old Fairfield Park resident will beg his daughter to get him out of the Wallaceburg nursing home, where he’s been isolated for weeks while officials work to curb a devastating COVID-19 outbreak that’s infected […]

UPDATE: ‘Protect our loved ones’

(March 3, 2021) By: Paul Pedro, BlackburnNews.com About 3,000 participants at a virtual rally about the long-term care crisis heard several activists share their pain and thoughts about the way their loved ones are and were treated at those homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rally was hosted by the Ontario Health Coalition on Wednesday. […]

OHC Demanding Ontario Do More To Fix The LTC Crisis

(March 3, 2021) By: CKXSFM.com Staff, CKXSFM.com Local health advocates are once again calling on the province to do more to protect residents in long term care. The Ontario Health Coalition is holding an online protest today to demand more be done for what local chair Shirley Roebuck calls a province-wide issue. “We want to […]

Health Coalitions to Host Virtual Protest

(March 2, 2021) By: HeartFM Health Coalitions across Southwestern Ontario will shine a light on how the pandemic has affected long-term care homes during a virtual protest tomorrow. OXFORD COUNTY – Health Coalitions across Southwestern Ontario including Oxford County are hosting a virtual protest on Wednesday. Chair of the local Health Coalition Bryan Smith says […]

EVENT: Southwest Ontario Online Protest for Long-Term Care Crisis

(March 3, 2021) Printable Save Our Seniors posters can be found below. To email your local MPP and Premier Doug Ford to take action now and Save our Seniors, click here. ————– There are 4 Save Our Seniors posters to choose from. To select the poster you wish to print, simply click the link found […]

55% of Ontario’s nursing home workers opted for vaccine

(February 26, 2021) By: Julie Ireton, CBC News Minjung Choi, associate director of care at Fountain View Care Community, gets a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Toronto on Dec. 15, 2020. Just over half of Ontario long-term care workers have been inoculated so far, according to the province. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) Despite the fact long-term […]

2 fois plus de cas actifs de COVID chez le personnel des foyers que les résidents

(February 25, 2021) By: Maud Cucchi, ICI Radio-Canada.ca Dans les foyers de soins de longue durée, en Ontario, le personnel est deux fois plus contaminé à la COVID-19 que les résidents, selon les dernières données disponibles. PHOTO : GETTY IMAGES / JOE RAEDLE Si le nombre de résidents atteints de la COVID-19 continue de décroître dans les […]

‘Ludicrously low’: Ontario PSW announcement shocks advocacy group

(February 23, 2021) By: Derek Dunn, Inside Ottawa Valley (Metroland Media Group) A group representing hundreds of health-care groups is shocked by the Ontario government’s announcement that it would help create only 373 new personal support workers (PSWs). “I am furious and gobsmacked,” said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition. “I mean, […]

PSW training program won’t solve the crisis in LTC staffing, critics say

(February 23, 2021) By: Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen (Print Edition) An innovative Ottawa program that matches people who have difficulty entering the workforce with jobs will train up to 120 personal support workers in the next 10 months. The Earn as You Learn program run by Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre in conjunction with two career […]

‘Profound’ care crisis; Critics say PSW training push not enough

(February 23, 2021) By: Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Sun (Print Edition) An innovative Ottawa program that matches people who have difficulty entering the workforce with jobs will train up to 120 personal support workers in the next 10 months. The Earn as You Learn program run by Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre in conjunction with two career […]

Ontario’s PSW plan woefully inadequate, critics charge

(February 23, 2021) By: Yahoo! News Canada As of Monday, 129 long-term care homes in Ontario were in the grips of a COVID-19 outbreak. Most of the cases at those homes involve workers. (iStock – image credit) “Shocking,” “appalling,” “offensive” and “disappointing” are just some of the words critics are using to describe the Ontario […]

New PSW training program not nearly enough to solve staffing crisis in long-term care, say critics

(Feb. 22, 2021) By: Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen An innovative Ottawa program that matches people who have difficulty entering the workforce with jobs will train up to 120 personal support workers in the next 10 months. The Earn as You Learn program run by Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre in conjunction with two career colleges will […]

Ford government investing over $4-million to train 300-plus personal support workers

(February 22, 2021) By: 680 News Martima, a Personal Support Worker with West Neighbourhood House’s Parkdale Assisted Living Program, makes her way to see a resident at Toronto’s May Robinson apartments, part of TCHC seniors housing, in Toronto, on Friday, April 17 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young The Ontario government is […]

Hamilton to receive funds to train more PSWs for long-term care

(February 22, 2021) By: Maria Iqbal, The Hamilton Spectator Two Hamilton-area sites are among the recipients of new provincial funding to train more workers for long-term care, but critics say it’s not nearly enough. ParaMed Inc. and Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology are both set to receive funds as part of a provincial announcement to train 373 more personal […]

RELEASE: OHC Responds to Ford Government’s PSW Announcement with Incredulity: 373 PSWs for Long-Term Care Nowhere Near What is Needed

(February 22, 2021) Toronto –Today the Ford government announced funding to train 373 new long-term care PSWs in Lanark and Renfrew, North Bay, Hamilton, Ottawa, the Greater Toronto Area, Kitchener, London and Burlington. This number of PSWs would not be enough to improve care in one middle-sized town, let alone across nine regions encompassing half […]

RELEASE & REPORT: The Spread of COVID-19 Pre- and Post- Winter Lockdown in Ontario Workplaces & Schools

(February 22, 2021) Toronto— The Ontario Health Coalition released its new report today tracking the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces, schools and childcare prior to the stricter lockdown and since, as well as the spread of the virus in the general population, The Spread of COVID-19 Pre- and Post- Winter Lockdown in Ontario Workplaces & […]

Plea To Avoid All Unnecessary Travel

(February 12, 2021) By: Mike Ebbeling, Dryden, ON, Canada / CKDR News A stern warning from the Ontario Health Coalition, a group representing health care unions, as Manitoba begins to reopen Friday. Executive Director Natalie Mehra is urging local residents to avoid all non-essential travel and pleading with Manitobans to not cross the provincial boundary. […]

The ‘Northern Bubble’ ~ Complacency is not an option.

(February 12, 2021) By: Lynne Brown, SaultOnline “The virus doesn’t move, people move it. If we stop moving, the virus stops moving.” Covid-19 and the B.1.1.7. (UK) variant are showing a worrisome spread inside the ‘northern bubble’. The advice from Ontario’s Public Health officials, the Ministry of Health and Longterm Care and the Ontario Health […]

Money not the only solution to fixing long-term care

(February 12, 2021) By: Catherine Whitnall, MyKawartha Competition can be healthy, but not when it comes to long-term care. The pandemic has contributed to countless long-term-care home deaths across Ontario and shone a light on a system that some say was broken long before the virus’ first case — a catalyst for a recent virtual […]

NWHU reporting 11 new COVID-19 cases, will move to yellow protect zone

(February 12, 2021) By: Doug Diaczuk, Thunder Bay, Tbnewswatch / iStock DRYDEN, Ont. – The number of cases in the Northwestern Health Unit catchment area climbed by 11 on Friday and public health officials are warning that even though the region will be moving into the yellow or protect category of the province’s COVID-19 response […]

LEVY: If it’s Friday, there must be new vaccine numbers

(February 13, 2021) By: Sue-Ann Levy, Toronto Sun Ontario Premier Doug Ford watches as a health-care technician prepares syringes of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for front-line health-care workers at a UHN (University Health Network) clinic at the MaRS building on January 7, 2021. PHOTO BY JACK BOLAND /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Three days ago on the day that […]

Readers react to Sault Star stories

(February 12, 2021) By: Brian Kelly, The Sault Star Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce POSTMEDIA FILE PHOTO The provincial government is pushing back the March break to April. Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the move will prevent people from gathering and avoid a repeat of the Christmas holidays when COVID-19 numbers spiked, including in […]

Health Coalition urging northerners to avoid non-essential travel

(February 11, 2021) By: Doug Diaczuk, Thunder Bay, Tbnewswatch THUNDER BAY – A growing number of COVID-19 variant cases arising in Ontario, including parts of the north, and the anticipated easing of restrictions next week has the Ontario Health Coalition strongly urging residents to stay home and avoid all non-essential travel. “We are calling on the […]

Stay home and keep out of Northern Ontario, says Health Coalition

(February 11, 2021) By: Len Gillis, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Sudbury.com An online news conference hosted by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) on Wednesday has put out the word that Northerners do not want outsiders travelling to the North and at the same time, OHC is urging Northern Ontario residents to stay in their own […]

COVID outbreak at North Bay apartment building has turned deadly, involves variant

Analysis (February 17, 2021) By: Chelsea Papineau, CTV News SUDBURY — The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit has confirmed its area’s second COVID-related death, nine months after the first. Health officials made the announcement Wednesday morning and say it is linked to the COVID-19 outbreak at North Bay’s Skyline-Lancelot Apartments that has infected […]

RELEASE: COVID-19 Health Care Outbreaks are Still Fatally High: Long-Term Care Deaths Surpass Wave I & COVID-19 Infections 50% More than Wave I

(February 17, 2021) Toronto – The results of the Ford government’s inaction prior to the winter holidays are in, and the second wave of COVID-19 now has 50% more long-term care cases than the first wave. The Ontario Health Coalition has been tracking COVID-19 outbreaks in health care settings since mid-March, and released a new […]

Sudburians react to the reopening of the region

Analysis (February 16, 2021) By: Jaime McKee, CTV News SUDBURY — It has been a long six weeks for many people in Sudbury, who have been trying to find ways to stay entertained since Boxing Day while having limited options. “We just try and play outside, got two young children. Skating rinks, snowmobiling, ice fishing. […]

LTC coalition passes declaration to ‘fix’ long-term care in Canada

(February 16, 2021) By: Mike Baker, The Echo Haliburton County “Demanding Care for our Elders!” More than 50 local residents from across Haliburton County and the City of Kawartha Lakes came together online last week and unanimously passed a declaration detailing changes to fix long-term care in Ontario. The percentage of long-term care COVID-19 deaths […]

How Ontario is limiting wage increases, paid sick days for front-line workers

(February 15, 2021) By: Chelsea Nash, Rabble.ca At any time, but particularly during a pandemic, imposing limits on workers’ ability to bargain for fair wages and better benefits is “unconstitutional,” say union leaders. Ontario’s Bill 124, passed into law in November 2019, is the subject of an ongoing constitutional challenge brought forward by a coalition […]

COVID-19: What you need to know for February 12

(February 12, 2021) By: TVO.org staff TVO.org reporters and editors are tracking stories about the coronavirus pandemic in all regions of the province. Here’s what Ontarians need to know. Provincewide Per today’s government report, there are 1,076 new cases in Ontario, for a total of total of 283,587 since the pandemic began; 763 people are in hospital, […]

Health coalition rejects call for Northern Ontario bubble

(February 11, 2021) By: PJ Wilson, Timmins Daily Press This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, orange, emerging from the surface of cells, green, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated […]

Ontario blames shortages for unfinished COVID-19 vaccinations in long-term care

(February 11, 2021) By: Rob Ferguson, Muskoka Region (Metroland Media Group) Ontario is blaming a shortage of vaccines for falling shy of its latest target to get first COVID-19 shots into vulnerable residents of long-term care. About 9,200 seniors in 41 nursing homes were awaiting the chance at initial jabs, the government said Wednesday, as 11 more […]

200 cases possibly linked to variant

(February 11, 2021) By: Antonella Artuso, Toronto Sun Ontario reported just over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday as the provincial government began lifting its stay-at-home order. Of the 1,072 new cases, 393 were in Toronto, 196 in Peel and 125 in York. Ontario conducted 52,504 COVID-19 tests in the prior 24 hours and the testing […]

Ontario reports 1,072 new COVID-19 cases; Since peaking in early to mid-January, numbers have been generally falling

(February 11, 2021) By: Antonella Artuso, Windsor Star TORONTO Ontario reported just over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday as the provincial government began lifting its stay-athome order. Of the 1,072 new cases, 393 were in Toronto, 196 in Peel and 125 in York Region. Ontario conducted 52,504 COVID-19 tests in the prior 24 hours, and […]

Health coalition rejects call for Northern Ontario bubble; However, members do call for tight and clear travel restrictions

(February 11, 2021) By: Pj Wilson, Sudbury Star Northern Ontario “can’t afford people coming up from southern Ontario” as a more virulent form of the novel coronavirus is spreading, Northern members of the Ontario Health Coalition said Wednesday. Speaking at a virtual news conference, representatives from across the North stopped short of calling for a […]

Stay home and keep out of Northern Ontario, says Health Coalition

(February 11, 2021) By: Len Gillis, Sudbury.com Natalie Mehra (left), executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, speaks at a press conference in 2018. (File) An online news conference hosted by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) on Wednesday has put out the word that Northerners do not want outsiders travelling to the North and at the same […]

U.K. variant requires new safety measures – coalition

(February 11, 2021) By: North Bay Nugget The Ontario Health Coalition, citing COVID-19 variant outbreaks in Ontario municipalities, including North Bay, is calling on the provincial government “to immediately provide clear, enhanced and enforced safety measures” to protect residents of the province. The coalition released tracking information on all the cases of the U.K. variant […]

OP-ED: Not ending private long-term care would be a deadly mistake

posted February 11, 2021

(February 11, 2021) On February 1, The Toronto Star published an opinion column titled “Ending private long-term care would be an expensive mistake.” Both on the facts and the ethics we disagree. “Resident mortality has been more common in privately owned homes,” begins the op-ed by Dr. Bob Bell. This detached language obscures the painful […]

COVID-19 : 1072 nouveaux cas et 41 morts en Ontario

(February 10, 2021) By: ICI Radio-Canada.ca Les nouvelles infections sont à la baisse en Ontario depuis la mi-janvier, mais pas les cas liés aux variants. PHOTO : CBC/ANDREW LEE Pour une deuxième journée de suite, le nombre de nouveaux cas de coronavirus en Ontario se situe juste au-dessus de la barre des 1000. Des 1072 nouvelles infections […]

Coalition wants tighter restrictions to prevent inter-provincial travel

(February 10, 2021) By: Elaine Della-Mattia, Timmins Daily Press Getty Images The Northern Ontario Health Care Coalition is urging Ontarians to stay in their own regions as the March break nears and the province begins to reopen. Representatives from the grassroots organization hosted a press conference Wednesday urging Ontarians to stay at home even as […]

Northern leaders with the Ontario Health Coalition asking people to stay home

(February 10, 2021) By: CBC News The spread of COVID-19 in Ontario since the holidays has northern Ontario health advocates bracing themselves for what March Break might hold. They are urging people to stay home as much as possible. (Markus Schwabe/CBC) The co-chair of the Sudbury Health Coaltion is setting an example for other northerners and […]

Ontario Health Coalition criticizes Ford government over COVID-19 variants

(February 10, 2021) By: Chris Dawson, BayToday.ca Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition. File Photo by Doug Diaczuk – Tbnewswatch.com. The Ontario Health Coalition is urging the province to do a better job of protecting Ontarians from the COVID-19 U.K. variant of concern, which includes the recent outbreak at the Lancelot Apartments in North Bay. […]

Ontario Health Coalition pumps brakes on northern bubble

(February 10, 2021) By: Christian D’Avino, CTV News Analysis SAULT STE. MARIE — With growing discussion on implementing a travel bubble in northern Ontario, the province’s health coalition said not so fast. The Ontario Health Coalition held a press conference Feb. 8, in which its northern members weighed in on the possibility of the north […]

RELEASE: Ontario Health Coalition Releases Tracking of UK Variant COVID-19 As COVID-19 U.K. Variant Spreads Ford Government Can Not Fail Us Again: Stronger Enforced Public Health Measures Are Missing

(February 10, 2021) Toronto – The Ontario Health Coalition has tracked all the cases of the U.K. variant (B. 1.1.7) for which we can find public information. The Coalition released the data today with a call for the Ford government to take fast action to protect Ontarians. The spread of the variant in Ontario is […]

Long-Term Care Homes and ‘Directive 3’ ~ A Hopeful Sign for Caregivers & Families

(February 9, 2021) By: Lynne Brown, SaultOnline Natalie Mehra (top left) is Ontario Health Coalition Executive Director. OHC has been holding zoom meetings with families, caregivers, health professionals and more since the outset of the pandemic. Long-Term Care has been a priority for OHC advocacy. (source: OHC on twitter) The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be […]

Health coalition speaks out after some Ontario nursing homes ban essential caregivers

(February 9, 2021) By: Daina Goldfinger, Jump Radio Toronto’s medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa said on Monday that the U.K. COVID-19 variant was confirmed in an outbreak at Roberta Place, a nursing home in Barrie, Ont., where she said 127 residents and almost half the staff have tested positive, and 40 individuals […]

The anatomy of an outbreak: How COVID-19 wreaked havoc at Grace Villa

(February 9, 2021) By: Maria Iqbal, Yahoo! News Hamilton’s worst outbreak was declared over last month, but questions linger about what happened and why. From Nov. 25 to Jan. 20, Grace Villa long-term-care home on the east Mountain had 234 COVID-19 cases. Of its 156 residents, 44 died with COVID-19. Since then, concerning allegations about […]

TODAY’S SHOW: Ontario set for regional reopening – are we ready?, pressure to vaccinate, why we’re not getting the cold, flu this year, need for laneway houses

(February 8, 2021) By: Peter Shurman, 640 Toronto’s Morning Show Analysis TODAY’S GUESTS: Dr. Timothy Sly, epidemiologist and professor emeritus at Ryerson University’s School of Public Health Dr. Mikal Skuterud, Professor of economics at the University of Waterloo Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition Dr. Jesse Papenburg, a pediatric infectious-disease physician at […]

RELEASE: Health Coalition Calls on Ford Government to Stop For-Profit Long-Term Care Chain Companies from Banning Essential Caregivers: COVID-19

(February 8, 2021) Toronto/Sudbury – The Ontario Health Coalition has been hearing from family members of loved ones in long-term care homes who are being stopped from getting into the homes to provide support and care for their loved ones. This is happening in a range of long-term care homes across Ontario, and the Coalition […]

Doctor claims Ontario ‘bungled’ vaccine rollout for seniors

(February 7, 2021) By: Donald Macdonald, Sudbury Star A doctor who works in Ontario long-term care homes accuses those charged with distributing the COVID-19 vaccine of “bungling” the process so badly that many of the vulnerable seniors who need it most won’t get their first dose until this week. Amit Arya, a palliative care doctor […]

Doc claims province ‘bungled’ vaccine rollout for seniors

(February 6, 2021) By: Sue-Ann Levy, Toronto Sun A health-care worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto on Dec. 14, 2020. PHOTO BY CARLOS OSORIO /AFP via Getty Images A doctor who works in Ontario long-term care homes accuses those charged with distributing the COVID-19 vaccine of “bungling” […]

Protesters: provincial government failing long-term care residents

(February 3, 2021) By: Lori-Anne Little, The Wellington Advertiser Kristin Hunter, a Guelph resident who spoke about her father, John Hunter, took part in the Jan. 29 online protest organized by the Ontario Health Coalition. WELLINGTON COUNTY – Over 19,000 people from across the province joined a Jan. 29 online protest to demand action from […]

Why is the Ford government making long-term care homes more like jails?

(February 3, 2021) By: Ellen Badone, The Hamilton Spectator Residents of Ontario’s long-term-care homes and their families have been dealing with lockdowns and visitor bans for nearly a year now. Since July 2020, I have conducted over 90 Zoom or phone interviews with relatives of long-term-care residents, as well as registered nurses (RNs), personal support […]

Far too many deaths in LTC

(February 3, 2021) By: Colin MacKay, Belleville Intelligencer (Print Edition) Two revelations have stood out over the past year due to COVID-19. The most notable revelation has been Long Term Care (LTC) homes. Far too many deaths have occurred in these homes. While the other revelation, which is not that surprising, students learn best at […]

‘This is a war’ against COVID-19, says former mayor Jim Gordon, and a Northern Bubble would be a powerful weapon

(February 2, 2021) By: Jenny Lamothe, Sudbury.com Former Sudbury mayor and MPP Jim Gordon told Sudbury.com that his recent calls for a Northern Bubble and participation in a discussion panel are because he believes Sudbury, and Northern Ontario “needs to stand up and fight back.” (File) Former Sudbury mayor and MPP Jim Gordon told Sudbury.com […]

Declaration to fix long-term care made by local group

(February 1, 2021) By: Lindsay Advocate “We, residents from across Haliburton County and the City of Kawartha Lakes, and friends, gathered together virtually, declare that we are of consensus that to fix long-term care, we need to…” so begins the Haliburton-City of Kawartha Lakes Declaration to Fix Long-Term Care, passed unanimously by some 50 residents […]

Conestoga offers fast-track training for personal support workers

(January 31, 2021) By: Michelle Ruby, Brantford Expositor Conestoga College has developed some innovative ways to turn out qualified personal support workers more in demand than ever during the pandemic. The school is offering a PSW-FAST Program, delivered virtually, so it can reach rural and remote locations across Ontario, said Sarah Pottier, chair of PSW and […]

LEVY: Ford government dropped the ball big-time on seniors

(January 30, 2021) By: Sue-Ann Levy, Toronto Sun There have so far been 3,502 deaths in LTC homes — 3,491 residents and 11 staff Foon Hay Lum, 111, died during a COVID-19 outbreak at Mon Sheong Homes seniors’ residence in April 2020. PHOTO BY SUPPLIED Helen Lee never thought she’d see a repeat of what she […]

The Jamie West Show interview with Natalie Mehra – January 30, 2021

(January 30, 2021) By: Jamie West, Global Radio 900 CHML Jamie West interviews Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, about the current crisis in Ontario long-term care homes as well as potential solutions. Click here for original audio (Interview with Natalie Mehra begins at 23:40)

Online protest points to devastating numbers at Roberta Place in Barrie, Ont., in calls for immediate action

(January 29, 2021) By: Kim Phillips & Roger Klein, CTV News BARRIE, ONT. — The management company of a Barrie long-term care home devastated by a COVID-19 outbreak has published an open letter after a report by Ontario’s ministry of long-term care revealed widespread violations. In the letter posted Friday, Jarlette Health Services president David […]