Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is being pressured by some of his own Liberal backbenchers to implement enforceable national standards for the operation of long-term care homes in Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is being pressured by some of his own Liberal backbenchers to implement enforceable national standards for the operation of long-term care homes in Canada.
The pressure came Thursday from five Toronto-area Liberal MPs, whose ridings are home to some of the facilities that have been devastated by COVID-19.
And it came just as the prime minister was preparing later in the day for his 11th conference call with premiers since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada in mid-March.
He had promised to repeat on the call his offer of federal help to improve conditions in care homes and to provide paid sick leave for workers forced to stay home due to COVID-19.
Both issues fall squarely within provincial jurisdiction and could test the “team Canada” spirit that has prevailed among first ministers so far during the COVID-19 crisis.
Trudeau’s offer of help has met with a mixed reaction so far from provincial and territorial leaders.
In a letter to Trudeau and Health Minister Patty Hajdu, the five Liberal MPs upped the ante, asking Ottawa to call on the Ontario government to launch a full, independent, public inquiry to investigate the failings of the province’s long-term care system and make recommendations for fixing them.
Those failings were exposed in appalling detail earlier this week in a scathing report by the military, which has been called in to help out in long-term care homes in Ontario and Quebec. The report cited examples of neglect, abuse and unsanitary conditions in five Ontario homes.
Similar problems had been reported in some Quebec homes in April, although a military report this week on that province said conditions have now improved somewhat.
Issue dominated premiers’ call
The five Ontario Lib