What Does It Take To Pass Legislation

Especially when you have a majority? The provincial liberals are "promising" to bring in the legislation to protect the elderly and I have to wonder if the fact that we are six months away from an election has anything to do with this long promised legislation. The Star exposed the problems in a "hard hitting series in 2003" so why hasn't The Star and McGinty taken action earlier?

Setting a standard for long-term care
April 02, 2007

When elderly people move to long-term care homes, they are often frail, needy and vulnerable. While some residents can still do many things for themselves, others require considerable help from staff to perform even basic tasks, such as bathing, dressing and eating.

Yet Ontario has had no minimum care standard in long-term care homes since 1996, when the previous Conservative government dropped a rule requiring that residents receive at least 2.25 hours of care every day.

As a result, families have had little assurance that their elderly relatives are being well looked after. True, many nursing homes in Ontario provide excellent care. But as the Star reported in a hard-hitting series in 2003, others are guilty of shoddy treatment, neglect and even abuse.

So Health Minister George Smitherman deserves credit for committing the province to reinstating a minimum care standard. In concert with other key reforms contained in the government's Long-Term Care Homes Act, now being debated in the Legislature, this is a welcome step toward curbing abuse and improving the lives of seniors.

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