I'm not sure that the current provisions are not sufficient, because neglecting or abusing elders is embedded in the Criminal Code.
The abuse and neglect that we saw, particularly during the first wave in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, were due to insufficient staff available to look after these very vulnerable Canadians. So many staff fell sick to the virus or were afraid to come to work. We heard reports from the Canadian Armed Forces of 115 residents with only three staff members.
Those three brave people who showed up to do their job were just not enough to keep people from being dehydrated, not having the food they required, and for not being toileted properly. That's because Canada invests 30% less than other OECD countries in the care of seniors. We've all known this for a while.
As a provincial health minister I knew this, and the measures we took to address it were insufficient across the country. The one thing that COVID has shown us is that we need to address the care of seniors in Canada. We need to make the system much stronger than it is today.
I'm hopeful that this will be one of the positive changes that occurs as a result of this pandemic.