Yes. Unfortunately it was a little too late, because almost 16,000 seniors lost their lives and many others were at risk of losing their lives.
I don't really have a lot of trust around fast action. I'll give you a couple of examples. One is universal pharmacare. The Liberal government has promised this since 1997. We're talking about now working with provinces and territories to put in place national standards for long-term care. Meanwhile, we know that not just seniors, but also many disabled adults, continue to be placed at risk while governments dilly-dally on the backs of seniors and disabled persons in this country.
We know that, especially when it comes to for-profit long-term care facilities, study after study and report after report confirm that for-profit facilities and their abhorrent services are to blame for the countless deaths and infections related to COVID-19. It is unacceptable to me that we continue to dilly-dally.
Shouldn't the federal government move beyond standards and create a national long-term care program to protect seniors and disabled persons and ensure that they get the care they need? Would you agree with that?