Or-der!
It was Premier Doug Ford's first day in question period in almost three weeks as he emerged from quarantine last night.
Long-term care, in the wake of the commission report, was a high priority issue for the NDP. Given that Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton has not accepted specific responsibility for actions taken or not taken by the government during the crisis that saw nearly 4,000 seniors in LTC homes die due to COVID-19, Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath asked how the premier could abide by this record.
"When is this premier going to do the right thing and remove the minister of long-term care?" she asked.
Ford rose to respond, and for the first time since its Friday release spoke in response to the commission report. "I first want to acknowledge the families whose loved ones were impacted by what happened in long-term care homes. It was a tragedy and it was absolutely terrible."
He proceeded to cast a wide net of blame. "It is now all of our responsibilities to fix the system that no government has gotten right — not Bob Rae, not Mike Harris, not Dalton McGuinty, not Kathleen Wynne. The final report shows what we’ve been saying all along: after years of neglect by governments of all political stripes — red, orange and blue — our long-term-care system was broken."
It is true that the commission report details historic neglect of the long-term care system that has endured for many years, and has crossed party lines.
But the commission report also specified failings of the current PC government, including seniors who died of neglect, including dehydration, rather than COVID-19 during the pandemic. The premier did not address these shortcomings in his response.
Horwath responded that no one has taken responsibility for the LTC crisis seen in the first and second waves of the pandemic, and asked for the premier to demand Fullerton resign.
Rather than do so, Ford expressed a vote of confidence in his minister. "I have full confidence in my minister. She’s done more as a doctor to serve those most in need than anyone in this chamber — anyone, bar none. For 30 years, she has dedicated her life to protecting the most vulnerable, caring for those who are sick on the front lines. That deserves respect."
Horwath said Ontarians deserve accountability, and cited one story mentioned in the long-term commission report, quoting one person who testified about the horrors that went on: "Of all the pictures I have of my mother over the years ... the one that’s burned into my mind forever is her lying there in a wet diaper without even a blanket to cover her, with her arm up, stretched in the air, begging for water and asking God why he had forsaken her."
Instead of addressing Horwath's third call for accountability, the premier chose to pivot to attack Ottawa on COVID-19 cases that come in through the border.
"We need the federal government to stop the leak. It’s like there’s a hole in the roof and the water’s pouring in, and the federal government is just not doing anything about it and it continues to spread. All front-line health-care workers are working hard. Everyone’s getting vaccines. We’re working around the clock, but there is a gaping hole right now. I’m asking once again for the federal government to tighten up our borders until we don’t see this tragedy happen in any long-term care."
Public Health Ontario data shows that about 1.6 per cent of known cases have come through travel. And while there are travel loopholes at the moment that the federal government could address, the provincial government has so far declined to implement the advice of the Science Table to narrow the list of essential workplaces, which are driving more transmission in Ontario by a significant multiple.
Horwath then focused on specific recommendations in long-term care, including the model for care. "How can the premier continue to defend making profits in long-term care, continue to shovel public dollars at for-profit long-term care homes in our province? This should stop. Will he make that commitment?"
The commission, however, does not say that long-term care should move to a non-profit model as its sole approach, citing the need for massive investment and the role the private sector can play to that end.
The premier threw himself in front of Fullerton. "I know it’s easy for the leader of the Opposition to blame my great minister, but the buck stops with me; that’s who it stops with. It stops with me and I’ll take responsibility." However, the premier did not explain how he is taking responsibility for shortcomings, or what form of accountability this will take.
He proceeded to cite numbers on the small amount of beds the Liberals created in the sector from 2011 to 2018, and the number of personal support workers that have been hired during this government.
Horwath took another run at this approach, and claimed that the premier is more interested in helping out long-term care shareholders than the public interest. The premier dismissed this concern. "Again, I have no buddies in long-term care. But do you know who my buddies are? They’re the front-line PSWs, the nurses that are working—" he said, before an incredulous Joel Harden, the NDP MPP from Ottawa Centre, heckled in response.
Following this, co-deputy leader Sara Singh remained focused on long-term care on behalf of the NDP.
She once again asked about accountability for Fullerton.
This time Fullerton rose to respond. "I’ve been very clear and repeated this numerous times that I do take responsibility for the well-being of residents in long-term care. I do take responsibility for the staff and the families. That’s exactly why I came to politics: because I recognized the importance of long-term care. I recognized that, for decades, the measures weren’t being taken. So, long before the pandemic came, I was taking responsibility for this, trying to get to this place, to be able to make the changes necessary, which we’ve done."
Fullerton did not spell out how she is taking responsibility for the specific shortcomings and forms of neglect detailed by the commission report.

Your question period briefing: Looking for long-term care accountability

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