SCARBOROUGH AND OSHAWA - Doug Ford should listen to health workers represented by the Ontario Nurses' Association opposing his bill to open the door to more privatization in home care, said NDP MPPs Doly Begum (Scarborough Southwest) and Jennifer French (Oshawa) after 419 ONA Care Coordinators wrote to the Minister of Health on Wednesday calling for the protection of home care for the sake of Ontarians who depend on it.
“Doug Ford needs to listen to nurses and the growing number of voices in the province, that are calling on him to stop the further privatization of Ontario’s home care system,” said Begum. “Ford is taking away accountability and failing to address staff shortages that plague home and community care.”
New Democrats oppose Doug Ford’s privatization of home care, and voted against Bill 175 at the legislature last June after attempts at making amendments to the bill to improve the quality of care for patients, and expand home care services, failed in committee without the support of the Liberals.
“ONA workers are telling Doug Ford that transferring their jobs to profit-making home care corporations will not only jeopardize their jobs, but also threatens the level of health care Ontarians will get,” said French. “Doug Ford should have already learned from his mistakes during this pandemic. He chose not to invest in protecting seniors in long-term care, and instead protected the corporations responsible for so much pain and suffering. Now he wants to do the same with home care.
“We stand with nurses who are protecting public health care and community care workers who are sounding the alarm that the privatization of home care will result in lost health care jobs, and less care for Ontarians during this pandemic.”
New Democrats have a plan to grow the home care system so that it actually meets people’s needs, without the wait, and is entirely public and not-for-profit so corporations can no long cut corners to pocket more profits. The NDP will overhaul home care to help people live at home longer, end the for-profit, understaffed patchwork of home care companies, and introduce new provincial standards for home care services, and culturally-appropriate resources, training and job-matching.