I was going to mention that in the area of the South East LHIN, there are 5,210 people waiting for long-term care. In Ontario, we know that over the last 14 years we haven't seen a decrease at all in the waiting list. It's actually grown. While the government has announced new beds, and that's welcome news for everyone, there are still over 3,200 people who are eligible for long-term care and can't find a bed to go to. For first nations seniors, many of them can't afford the preferred venue, which is semi-private or private. Often what happens is if you can afford a private room, you can get into the facility much quicker. For first nations seniors living on reserve, their income is so low they're the ones who end up being stuck in the hospital or living at home at risk. We see that the system is not really addressing those issues, and that's why we hear every day about the bad things that are happening in long-term care as well as the hospitals and emergency wards being jammed. For first nations seniors, they don't have the income. They can't access the publicly funded system for private and semi-private rooms so they have to wait for what they call “basic accommodation”. Seventy per cent of all the seniors, of the 30,000 in Ontario, can only afford basic accommodation. That's one of the problems.
On May 31st, 2018. See this statement in context.