SoVote

Ms. Pam Damoff (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)

Jun/2/22 3:09:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the pandemic, our government's focus has been the health and safety of Canadians. The most recent data indicates that the omicron wave has passed its peak, allowing us to move toward a longer-term approach to managing COVID. As we have said since the beginning of the pandemic, Canada's border measures will remain flexible and adaptable, guided by science and prudence.

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Context: House Hansard - 80 - Jun/2/22

Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)

Jun/2/22 6:47:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the chance to come back to a question I asked of the Prime Minister about a month or so ago. I asked the question because it was on long-term care. Back in 2019, when I was knocking on doors in my community, I heard concerns from neighbour after neighbour, both those who had a parent in care and those who were caregivers, about the crisis they saw as a result of decades of underinvestment. It is an example of how the pandemic really only made things worse, because if we fast-forward to 2021, we all know that the crisis in long-term care exploded in the pandemic. In my community, for example—and I have shared this story in the House before—I will not forget anytime soon speaking with a woman who was sharing how her mom had been waiting in hospital for a bed in long-term care for three months. As she told this story, I could see the tears streaming down her face. I also spoke with a personal support worker who shared, and she was being honest, that “I am not giving four hours of care a day; I am lucky if I am able to give four minutes of care a day.” It is obvious that this crisis continues in long-term care, and we are not out of the woods yet. In fact, in the most recent numbers I have available on the wait times for long-term care, in the summer of 2021 there were still 52,000 people on the wait-list. Last year, we heard in the Liberal platform and from the Prime Minister himself that billions of dollars were being promised for long-term care. He shared the words that nothing was off the table when it comes to addressing the crisis in long-term care, but if we fast-forward to what was in the budget, and I looked right through it, long-term care was only mentioned once, and when it was mentioned, it was only about funds that were previously allocated. There was also no mention of the safe long-term care act, despite this being part of the agreement between the NDP and the Liberals, one of the few really key new items. This is what prompted my question to the Prime Minister at the time and my continued concern when it comes to addressing the crisis. To offer some ideas on what could be done, we need look no further than what the former member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith, Paul Manly, had proposed in Motion No. 77. He proposed eliminating the wait times; paying long-term care staff adequately for their work, and providing benefits and paid sick leave; implementing a basic care guarantee that would ensure that we have a minimum of four hours of regulated personal care per day for every resident; taking the profit out of long-term care and transitioning long-term care facilities to non-profit and co-operative management structures; and introducing a safe long-term care act modelled after the Canada Health Act to be sure that it establishes national standards for care and staffing. In the Prime Minister's response, he shared that the government is working with provinces and territories. Tonight, for the parliamentary secretary, I have three questions I would love to hear more about. First of all, does he and the governing party recognize that the crisis in long-term care continues? Second, when, specifically, will the governing party follow through on what they have already promised: tabling the safe long-term care act? Finally, if he can provide an update as to whether work is being done with provinces and territories, exactly what work is being done?

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Context: House Hansard - 80 - Jun/2/22

Mr. Adam van Koeverden

Jun/2/22 6:56:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while I know that it is challenging for Green members to appear at committee, I would invite the member to the health committee at some point. Work is under way. We have been addressing human resources in health care, which is related to this challenge. I would also highlight what I said in a previous round, which is that we are investing $3 billion through budget 2021 to ensure that standards for long-term care are applied and that permanent changes are made. We all agree that people living and working in long-term care deserve to be treated with respect and dignity in a safe environment. Our government has invested in immediate solutions while supporting efforts to permanently correct what needs correcting in the long-term care system, not only to better protect against a future pandemic, but to make every single day a day of safety and good living. We owe this to our seniors in the country. They built this country. We are grateful for this country. It is a great place to live, and we owe them a life of dignity and respect. That is what we are achieving together by collaborating in this place.

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