Debates of March 22nd, 2021

Opposition Motion—Long-Term Care

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Madam Speaker, I do not know if the member has had the privilege, as I have, of working in a long-term care home. I was a social worker and case manager in CHSLDs, the long-term care facilities in Quebec. I can tell her that national standards are not going to improve care. That is not what we need. I do not know who she consulted in Quebec, but I can tell her that that is not going to change things in CHSLDs in my lifetime.

Does the member realize that this motion is an affront to the Premier of Quebec and the Quebec National Assembly, which is unanimously opposed to national standards and any interference in its jurisdictions, in this case health? Is she aware that this is an affront to Quebec?

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, what I see as an affront is what happened to seniors. What I see as a national shame is the very fact that we do not have national standards, and so many seniors lost their lives in the face of the pandemic. We know that for-profit long-term care facilities have contributed to the loss of lives. Report after report and expert after expert, who have looked into the situation, have said so.

Is it not time for us to set aside jurisdictional issues? Is it not time for us to say that we must do better and that seniors deserve no less? Is it not time that we ensured that the Canada Health Act is followed? Is it not time that we take profit out of care? Is it not time that we put people before all else and say very clearly that lives matter, that we value seniors and will do everything we can to protect them and never let this happen again?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank all of my colleagues in the House today who are speaking to this very important issue. I am pleased to rise to address the motion by the hon. member for Burnaby South. I share his concerns and, I can safely say, all members' concerns for Canadians living in long-term care facilities during this unprecedented COVID-19 health crisis. The Government of Canada recognizes the impact of the virus on many vulnerable populations, including those living in long-term care facilities.

As members know, the administration of long-term care falls under provincial and territorial jurisdiction. However, as committed to in the Speech from the Throne, the federal government is taking action and will continue to take any action we can to support seniors while working alongside the provinces and territories. From the outset, these facilities were hit hard in many parts of the country. During the first wave, approximately 81% of the fatalities from COVID-19 were residents of long-term care facilities and, to date, more than 66% of deaths due to COVID-19 have occurred in long-term care.

An analysis by the Canadian Institute for Health Information in June 2020 compared Canada's experience in long-term care facilities with that of other countries in the OECD. As the member has noted, this report found that the proportion of COVID-19 deaths among long-term care residents in Canada was higher than in other OECD countries. Of course, there was substantial variation in the experiences of people and long-term care facilities across Canada's provinces and territories. Some regions have fared better than others. Generally, jurisdictions with lower COVID-19 infection rates in the community reported fewer long-term care cases and deaths, but right across the country the pandemic has highlighted long-standing and systemic challenges in Canada's long-term care system, and has had a significant impact on residents and staff in these facilities, exposing gaps in infection prevention and control, staffing, infrastructure and testing.

In response the federal government is taking important steps to respond to the significant challenges faced by long-term care facilities across the country, and the Government of Canada recognizes the need to work with the provinces and territories to develop long-term care standards. The government has committed to establishing national standards for long-term care as a means to address critical gaps in long-term care facilities, including the working conditions of lower-wage essential workers in senior care, particularly personal support workers, who have persevered in the face of adversity.

In the early stages of the pandemic, all levels of government began working in close collaboration to ensure that the public health measures being taken were in alignment. Public health authorities continue to closely monitor COVID-19 in Canada and carefully consider approaches to easing public health restrictions when and where possible. The epidemiology of COVID-19 is different in each jurisdiction, and this means that approaches across Canada will not all be the same and will need to be tailored to the unique challenges and context of the disease in each province and territory. Each jurisdiction in Canada is looking at different kinds of community settings, such as long-term care facilities, and developing risk-based approaches and assessments based on what is taking place within their own jurisdiction.

I would like to outline two key measures from the fall economic statement: the safe long-term care fund and the expansion of the long-term care plus initiative. Both measures would be implemented with funding provided through BillC-14. Unfortunately, in the House we have seen partisan games preventing this important legislation from passing.

Under the safe long-term care fund, up to $1 billion would be transferred to provinces and territories to help protect people in long-term care facilities, by their implementing additional measures for infection prevention and control. Specifically, provinces and territories would have the flexibility to use these funds to help facilities retain and hire new staff, including through topping up wages. It would also help them upgrade infrastructure, such as increased ventilation to reduce transmission, as well as undertake needed assessments to determine what other infection-prevention and control measures might be required to prevent and mitigate the effects of COVID-19. To help Canadians better understand the significant efforts under way, provinces and territories would develop detailed action plans and would report on progress and results.

Officials are working out the details now with a view to getting these investments to provinces and territories as quickly as possible to further protect Canadians who reside and work in long-term care settings. This legislation is critical, and it needs to be passed.

In July 2020, the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement published a report on lessons learned from the response to COVID-19 in long-term care and retirement homes. It was called “Reimagining Care for Older Adults”. The report is based on interviews with family partners, health care leaders and policy makers. It focuses on promising practices that have the potential to reduce the risk of future COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care and retirement homes.

From these findings, the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement and the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, now amalgamated and known as Healthcare Excellence Canada, launched a new program called the long-term care plus initiative. This program helps prevent and control infection in long-term care homes and seniors residences, allowing them to prepare for possible future outbreaks and mitigate the pandemic's effect.

Direct support is available through coaching and seed funding to help participating facilities address gaps identified through the program.

The fall economic statement committed an additional $6.4 million over two years to further expand this initiative. As of March 10, 2021, a total of 1,086 facilities have submitted applications and are participating in the long-term care plus initiative. Of course, the safe long-term care fund and the long-term care plus initiative are only the most recent of many programs launched over the past year. I will provide a few examples of other initiatives that are already making a difference in long-term care facilities.

Last April, Health Canada, with support from the Public Service Commission of Canada, launched the COVID-19 voluntary recruitment campaign. The Government of Canada supported provinces and territories by facilitating this inventory of skilled Canadians to provide surge capacity in the following key areas: case tracking and contact tracing, health system surge capacity, case data collection and reporting. Provincial and territorial governments continue to draw upon the volunteer inventories as needed to support local public health responses.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the Canadian Armed Forces provided support in Ontario and Quebec for outbreaks in long-term care facilities. Now the Canadian Red Cross continues to be available for deployment to homes that are experiencing significant outbreaks and has already supported more than 130 long-term care facilities in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. The Canadian Red Cross is also overseeing the recruitment and training of workers to support infection prevention and control, basic care and facility management.

Last summer, the Government of Canada negotiated the safe restart agreement with the provinces and territories. The agreement provided $740 million in funding to support vulnerable Canadians, including those in long-term care, home care and palliative care, who, as we know, are more at risk of severe cases of COVID-19.

The government is also providing comprehensive and evidence-based preliminary guidance on key populations for COVID-19 immunization, including residents and staff of congregate living settings that provide care for seniors.

Finally, a temporary COVID-19 resiliency stream was created to provide provinces and territories with added flexibility to use existing resources to fund quick-start, short-term infrastructure projects, including health infrastructure, such as long-term care homes.

Besides these activities, the Government of Canada is providing support to provinces and territories through the procurement and distribution of millions of authorized vaccines and rapid tests, which help protect long-term care residents and staff.

As well, the COVID-19 testing and screening expert advisory panel released a report this winter to help inform the development of robust testing and screening strategies in long-term care homes.

I would like to speak for a moment about the role of personal support workers. Now more than ever, Canadians understand that personal support workers are an integral and important part of the health care system, providing close direct support to residents. Every person entering a long-term care home, including essential visitors and volunteers, has a responsibility to prevent infections among residents of those facilities, who are at a high risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19.

It is because of this high risk that access to personal protective equipment and training is critical for the workers' own safety and the safety of residents. The Government of Canada is taking action to ensure that health care workers have the personal protective equipment and medical supplies they need. We have done this through collaborative bulk procurement with the provinces and territories, building domestic production capacity and identifying potential alternatives to extend product life.

We also need to recognize the contributions of workers in long-term care facilities and better compensate them for taking care of our most vulnerable citizens. Their work is essential in reducing the spread of the virus, and the government understands that. That is why up to $3 billion of federal funding was provided in support to provinces and territories to increase the wages of low-income essential workers, which could include front-line workers in hospitals and long-term care facilities. Provinces and territories will also be able to use the funding under the safe long-term care fund to top up wages of staff members in long-term care facilities.

Finally, the Government of Canada recognizes that we need to increase the number of personal support workers in the country, and we committed funding of $38.5 million over two years for Employment and Social Development Canada to support training of up to 4,000 personal support worker interns through an accelerated six-week online training program. This will be combined with a four-month work placement to help address acute labour shortages in long-term care and home care.

As we have learned more about this virus and the populations at risk, we are doing everything we can to help protect citizens in long-term care facilities. The Public Health Agency of Canada has provided infection prevention and control guidance to help prevent COVID-19 infections among residents and workers in long-term care and assisted living facilities, as well as in home care, including the appropriate use of PPE.

Many facilities have already implemented their own measures, such as restricting visitation or other non-essential on-site services. Now, as we learn more about the impact of these restrictions on residents, more and more facilities are developing nuanced and compassionate approaches to visitation. The long-term care plus program has recently released a checklist for the safe re-entry of essential care partners in long-term care facilities.

Long-term care facilities should also follow the best practices developed by the relevant provincial or territorial health authority. Examples include daily screening of anyone entering facilities, rapidly testing people who are ill, widespread testing if there is an outbreak, and supporting people in isolation and quarantine.

We know these measures have to followed diligently. We also know, now, that one of the best practices is to ensure support for the workers. Many personal support workers from racialized communities are not paid well and do not have sick leave benefits. Some of the federal supports, such as the Canada recovery sickness benefit, help with that, so that people can stay home if they are ill.

Our government is taking action to support residents of long-term care homes, but we do know there is more to do. The pandemic has highlighted challenges that the long-term care sector has faced for many years. The Government of Canada is working with provinces and territories to address these challenges and protect residents of long-term care facilities from exposure to the COVID-19 virus by helping the provinces and territories deliver on their health care responsibilities. Together, we are making progress.

After more than a year of living with the threat of COVID-19, provinces and long-term care homes across the country are ramping up vaccinations for their residents. Infections and death rates in long-term care homes are reduced. However, we still have to be able to quickly detect and respond to outbreaks if they occur. We need to be prepared for possible increases in the number of infections caused by new variants. This continues to require a coordinated effort.

As people can imagine, a lot of work is happening behind the scenes with our many partners across all levels of government, and indeed with non-governmental organizations that have stepped up. All of this work will deepen our understanding of the disease and provide the data we need to inform our response and decision-making.

If we have learned anything over the past year, it is that we have to continue with strong public health efforts to reduce transmission of the virus and minimize its impact on the vulnerable residents of long-term care facilities, and we have to work together. We must also plan and be ready for the future, as there is a lot that we still do not know about COVID-19. We have to address the needs of residents in long-term care as the situation evolves.

I can assure this House that the Government of Canada will continue to do everything within our power and jurisdiction to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and protect the health, safety and well-being of all Canadians during these difficult and uncertain times.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, we heard, in the hon. minister's comments, that the government is willing to do absolutely everything it can to protect Canadians.

Pat Armstrong, a sociologist at York University who has studied Canada's long-term care homes for 30 years, firmly believes that Canada's dismal record stems from a historic decision to exclude long-term care facilities from Canada's networks of provincial and territorial public health systems.

She states that this exclusion has resulted in undertraining, poor treatment of workers, substandard and aging facilities, overcrowding, and poor infection control capabilities.

Given what the minister stated in her interventions, knowing that the vast majority of deaths from COVID-19 have been connected to long-term care—and not just our seniors, but also our workers—would the hon. minister support, within her government's power, the application of the Westray law to ensure that these corporations are held responsible for the unnecessary deaths of their workers?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Speaker, our government has always supported the use of the Westray law when appropriate and certainly would not stand in the way of charges that were applied. We believe that workers' rights are fundamental, and they are fundamental in not just the protection of those individual workers in this case but certainly of their families. We know that onward transmission in households has been another huge driver of case growth in this country.

I think our government has been very clear that workers' protections are paramount to us, and we would obviously support the application of any potential criminal charges, respective of the law.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask a question regarding the 4,000 personal support workers, or PSWs, who are being trained.

The trainees are being accelerated in an online program, and then they go into the field and receive the bulk of their practical training with already understaffed, overworked personal support workers who just do not have the time.

I am wondering if the minister thinks that this is an acceptable and compassionate way to approach the staffing crisis in our long-term care facilities.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Speaker, in the response that the government has taken to try to support provinces and territories in what I would call a significant staffing shortage, we have developed everything with provinces and territories, and that is the real difference between what the NDP members are proposing here today and what the government believes.

We know that the provinces and territories have not only the right to deliver health care but the responsibility to do so as well. Whenever we work with them in an area of their jurisdiction, it is with a full partnership model, and this is no different.

[Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Madam Speaker, my question is for the minister.

It is true that the pandemic has laid bare all the deficiencies in long-term care facilities and that many lives have been lost. People throughout Quebec and elsewhere have been affected.

However, Quebec is fully capable of looking after its long-term care facilities. The burning question is this: Will the government proceed with health transfers to the provinces, yes or no?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question, but I will say that the underlying premise is not necessarily correct, given that the Canadian Armed Forces were required for quite some time in Quebec to support the work of the province.

I think the Prime Minister has been very clear. We will be there for provinces and territories with money, as I have demonstrated through my remarks today; with practical support in terms of evidence, research and best practices; and with equipment and vaccines. That is exactly what we have done.

I want to congratulate the Province of Quebec for working so hard to immunize so many people in long-term care and the staff who work in those facilities. Certainly, I think it is on the right path in terms of protecting the most vulnerable among us. However, anything we do in terms of future—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Sorry, but we have to allow for other questions.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Speaker, the humanitarian crisis in long-term care homes has been a concern for all Canadians, and no one more than Green Party leader Annamie Paul, whose father died in a long-term care home in Toronto at the beginning of the pandemic.

We have been providing a lot of very specific recommendations, some of which are in the NDP motion today, but my question to the hon. minister is really around what more we can do in the approach the government is taking. I personally support the notion that we need an emergency summit of federal-provincial leadership to think about whether we can do better and overcome the jurisdictional barriers.

I listen to people like Sharleen Stewart, president of the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, on what those workers were going through and continue to go through. They are not going to be able to absorb new people who are on a learning curve when we are still in a pandemic.

I ask the hon. minister what more can be done and whether she is open to some of the solutions that are before us today.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Speaker, I wish to give my condolences to Ms. Paul. It is a tragedy to lose a loved one. I cannot imagine the pain she has gone through, like so many other Canadians.

First, let me speak to the treatment and pay for long-term care workers. My first job for the federal government was as minister of status of women. The House may remember the many debates we had about pay equity, the gender wage gap and the historic underpayment of people who provided care.

This is a really powerful reminder that we have a lot of work to do in how we value what we consider care work, whether it is care of seniors or care of children. Care work is undervalued, and there is a significant gender bias there. There is—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Guelph.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. minister for helping me with my issues in Guelph. I have been working with long-term care facilities of different types. One issue that has come up is with the class C facilities, where people would normally share rooms and bathrooms. Now, with COVID, these facilities have had to drastically reduce the number of people under care, which also affects their funding models. Another issue is with testing and having more than just nose swabs, where Health Canada has approved saliva testing.

How can we work with the provinces to help support class C facilities as well as expanded testing?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his work and advocacy in his community of Guelph.

The Government of Canada has adapted the investing in Canada infrastructure program specifically with the mind of trying to support provinces and territories to renew some of this aging infrastructure and address some of the most pressing issues, which might be things like shared washroom facilities but also inadequate ventilation, such as older windows that do not open.

People think of ventilation as something that is extremely complex, and it is, but there are also low-tech solutions. Sometimes it is about airing out rooms and having the ability to do that. Some of these older buildings do not have that capacity, so the flexibility of the COVID-19 resiliency stream allows provinces and territories the ability to do these quick-start short-term projects that can have great health benefits.

I thank the member again for his advocacy. There is a lot of work to do in improving the quality of care in Guelph and across the country.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Calgary Nose Hill.

We know that Canadians have the right to live and age with dignity and every senior, regardless of where they reside, is owed it. Long-term care homes have been at the centre of the COVID-19 pandemic and this past year has been extremely difficult for our seniors in care, their families and the front-line workers in the long-term care community. We know that COVID-19 has led to too many families having to say goodbye much too early and that some families were not even afforded this opportunity.

We all know that the health crisis has left too many seniors neglected, with their care needs not being met, and too many families have missed out on precious time together. Too many seniors have been lonely and isolated for far too long and our long-term care workers have sacrificed so much, worked tirelessly on the front lines and many are, understandably, burnt-out.

Whether we have read the Canadian Armed Forces exit report, watched the news stories or heard first-hand accounts, we should all be gripped by the heartbreaking stories that have emerged during this pandemic. The inadequate living and working conditions that have been exposed in some of the long-term care facilities is unacceptable. With the most outbreaks, fatalities and the toughest restrictions, seniors living in long-term care homes have been hit very hard by this pandemic. The difficult truth in these outcomes is that the serious shortcomings in long-term care contributed to these outbreaks and fatalities.

Scarcity of PPE, delays in testing, staffing shortages and inadequate infrastructure all contributed to the tragedy in long-term care. These vulnerabilities had a direct impact on the health and safety of our seniors and those who cared for them. Delays in getting PPE, rapid testing and an efficient vaccine rollout all have a real human cost and, shamefully, Canada’s outbreak and fatality rate in care homes stands out on the world stage.

First-wave reporting showed that Canada had the highest proportion of deaths occurring in long-term care among OECD countries. Canadian seniors living in long-term care were more vulnerable than seniors in care elsewhere. That is unacceptable. Where we go from here matters.

We cannot ignore the aggravating factors that have contributed to the losses in these homes. While the pandemic has heightened and worsened the challenges in long-term care, the reality is that these problems are not new. The need for better ventilation systems, private rooms and updated spaces that allow for infection prevention control measures are not new, but the pandemic has put a spotlight on the human cost of not investing in long-term care infrastructure.

Just as the need for qualified and adequate levels of staffing in care homes is not new, it is not possible for a long-term care home to bring in surge staffing if the home is already understaffed. These gaps in the long-term care sector left our seniors and front-line health care and essential workers vulnerable. With an aging population and increasingly complex needs, the problems in long-term care will only grow without intervention. We need immediate and medium-term action to stabilize and address the vulnerabilities in this sector.

The pandemic has underscored the urgency of action. Ensuring the health and safety of seniors living in long-term care must be a priority for every level government. No one has the jurisdictional or moral right to neglect the serious shortcomings in this sector. The federal government owes it to our seniors and all Canadians to collaborate with provinces, territories, senior advocates and caregiving organizations to address it. It is important that all these voices are in partnership to ensure we find meaningful and appropriate solutions.

We are now more than a year into the pandemic. The Liberal government has announced its intention to deliver national standards for long-term care, but we have not seen progress made on that announcement. There needs to be a collaborative approach to move the needle.

The Conservatives understand that to deliver meaningful change in long-term care, we cannot have a top-down Ottawa approach. Not only do provincial and territorial governments need to be at the table, we need to include seniors' advocates and caregiving organizations. Their experience and expertise are critical to developing appropriate solutions for our seniors, solutions that are more than just patchwork responses. We owe that to our seniors who have helped build our great country. We owe it to them to care for them in their later years.

Financial gain cannot be the priority in delivering care to our seniors. We need a thorough response to address the many serious shortcomings in long-term care. There cannot be a siloed approach to addressing it. We must act to address the vulnerabilities in all models of care homes. Together, all levels of government, seniors' advocates and caregiving organizations must act to address the wide range of vulnerabilities in care.

A comprehensive response to the crisis in long-term care must consider best practices for quality and appropriate care. Seniors in care should never have their care needs neglected and should have access to quality and appropriate care, regardless of where they reside.

A comprehensive response has to tackle the growing staffing crisis in care, bring stability in the short term, but also find solutions over the medium term to increase the pool of skilled workers in this sector. It has to ensure there is adequate access to PPE, rapid tests and infection control measures. We need to ensure that care homes have the resources they need to protect the health and safety of our seniors and front-line health care workers in this pandemic and moving forward.

A comprehensive response has to include a plan to update our outdated infrastructure, so the brick and mortar is in place to allow for the implementation of infection control measures. There needs to be investment and support for more long-term care facilities. We cannot ignore the continuum of housing needs for seniors. We need to ensure our front-line health care workers have the supports they need.

The Conservatives know that the needs in long-term care are comprehensive. Therefore, we need a comprehensive plan to address the crisis in long-term care. With an aging population, that will only put more pressure on an already exhausted system. The need to act is immediate. Everybody needs to be at the table to address it and ready to act in areas of their responsibility. We need to move beyond announcements and toward meaningful action.

Our seniors, regardless of where they reside, deserve to live and age with dignity. The federal government should be in partnership with all levels of government, working together to provide not only better but appropriate supports for Canada’s seniors who live in all models of care homes. That is why the Conservatives urge this government to work collaboratively with provinces, territories, seniors' advocates and caregiving organizations to take action on this important issue.

The Conservatives are ready to work collaboratively to provide better supports and appropriate care for Canada’s seniors. We urge the government to take a leadership role in promoting best practices in long-term care, while recognizing the diversity of needs and challenges across the country. We need to work together in partnership with all levels of government, caregiving organizations and seniors' advocates. We need to develop immediate and medium-term solutions to address the critical vulnerabilities in the long-term care sector. We need to stabilize the long-term care sector as we continue to navigate the pandemic, but we cannot afford to narrowly focus on the pandemic.

We need to work toward a comprehensive plan that will deliver substantial solutions for our seniors in care and those soon to be in care. It is not just that our seniors in care need more care; we must ensure there is a quality of care that addresses the complexity of their care needs. Whether it is the quality of care, workforce shortages or adequate infrastructure, only a collaborative and comprehensive approach will address the systemic issues in our long-term care sector. There is no time to delay. We have seen throughout the pandemic the real human costs of neglecting this sector.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Battlefords—Lloydminster for her speech on this issue that affects seniors.

She spoke about the important role the health care system plays in caring for seniors, and not national standards dictated by the federal government, since this is not a federal jurisdiction. Today's situation is the result of years of underfunding in health care, from both Liberal and Conservative governments. She said she was prepared to grant health transfers, but is she prepared to increase them to 35%, as Quebec and the provinces are demanding? Quebec and the provinces want health transfers to be significantly increased, so that they can truly address the issue.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Madam Speaker, as I touched on in my remarks, first we need to have a collaborative approach. That has to be not only with all levels of government, including provincial, territorial and even municipal, but also with caregiving organizations and senior advocates, as they have so much to offer. Having met with so many of them from across the nation, I think they have first-hand experience that sometimes elected people in political positions do not have. It is so imperative that we hear what those needs are.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, depending on what Conservative is addressing the issue of personal care homes, we often get differing opinions on whether there should be national standards and to what degree.

Can the member give any sort of a clear indication from her perspective on the Conservative Party? Does the Conservative Party support Ottawa having stronger national standards in home care services? Obviously we have to work with the stakeholders, particularly our provinces, in order to be able to achieve that, but to what degree does she believe that Ottawa needs to play a leadership role?

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Madam Speaker, I think a great thing about the Conservative caucus is that we definitely have different opinions. We are allowed to debate those opinions and we bring them to the table. That being said, as I stated in my remarks we absolutely need to hear from the people on the front lines, senior advocates and those caring for our seniors.

With best practices, I absolutely think there is an opportunity for all of these people to come together. Whether it is organizations, stakeholders or different levels of government, they can talk about best practices. Iron sharpens iron, and we can always learn something for better care for our seniors.

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Madam Speaker, how important is it to look at more of a bottom-up strategy, rather than an Ottawa top-down strategy, in making sure that we have the support of these organizations, particularly the provinces, as we go forward?

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Madam Speaker, I never think that a top-down “Ottawa knows best” approach works for anything. This country is very vast and regionally has many differences, especially when we look at our seniors living in rural Canada. They have different needs and access to necessities than urban seniors do.

We absolutely have to have the stakeholders and front-line workers having this conversation and giving their input. I do not see any problem with all levels of government coming to the table and having that conversation.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Speaker, I know my colleague from Battlefords—Lloydminster is on the call, as she just debated, and I would like to thank her for her work on the issue of seniors. She has been tireless. I have been working with her, and she has met with dozens of affected groups from across the country. I know she brings a good perspective to this issue.

I would like to start my speech today by talking about what this issue is. In the last year, we have seen senior citizens under the government's duty of care die alone covered in their own feces. We have seen the military called in to deal with these situations. Nobody in Parliament, or any other level of government, gets to say that it is not our job to deal with this situation.

What happened in our long-term care facilities across this country during this last year of COVID should light the entire country on fire. If we truly believe that every Canadian deserves to live with dignity, then we need to be talking about this issue. We need to be proposing solutions, and we need to be moving forward. Anything less than that, I would say, is un-Canadian.

This is not an issue that just affects seniors. This cuts across every generation. This is for the seniors who are living in long-term care. This is for Canadians who might be approaching the age when they have to consider long-term care. It is also for people from my generation who are starting to have hard conversations with their parents about what they want to have happen, how they are going to age, and whether they will age in place.

It also affects the workers in these facilities. I am tired of seeing articles, which are absolutely true, on the PTSD workers in long-term care facilities have experienced dealing with the COVID pandemic. We all need to wake up and understand that we have to push forward with proposing solutions.

I am very pleased that the NDP has decided to use one of its precious supply days bringing this issue forward to the House of Commons for debate. We have spent a lot of time in this Parliament, and in the last Parliament, talking about dying with dignity, which is an important topic. However, we also need to be talking about living with dignity. We also need to be talking about the conditions seniors in Canada who require long-term care are currently living in, right now.

I want to start by looking at the motion itself. The first part of this motion requires Parliament to recognize three deadly facts for which there can be no debate. The first is that “during the first wave of the pandemic, 82% of COVID deaths in Canada happened in long-term care, which is the highest proportion in the OECD”.

The second fact is that “there have been over 12,000 long-term care resident and worker deaths in Canada since the beginning of the pandemic”, and the third is that “residents and workers in for-profit long-term care homes have a higher risk of infection and death than those in non-profit homes”. These are facts. We cannot deny them. The evidence is there. Parliament has to recognize that.

The first part to finding a solution is recognizing there is a problem. There were 12,000 deaths in long-term care homes during the first wave of the COVID pandemic. Let us quantify and think about that. That is greater than the population of some Canadian towns. I ask members to think about how many families were affected by that.

We also need to think about the workers who are affected by this. Many workers in these facilities are underpaid and undersupported, and many of them are new Canadians. Some are temporary foreign workers, and this is something a lot of people are willing to turn a blind eye to. I am glad the NDP put these figures in this motion. Parliament should be recognizing them and waking up to them.

The second part of the motion suggests that something must be done, so the NDP has proposed a solution. The fix this motion proposes is to move all privately owned long-term care facilities into public ownership. That is a spicy solution. At least there is a solution being proposed here.

My party strongly supports a well-funded, robust and publicly funded health care system in Canada, and it cannot be denied that there are significant issues with privately owned long-term care facilities. I want to talk about one example that the government has never rectified.

That is the approval of the sale of many long-term care facilities to Anbang. The purchase of long-term care homes by Anbang was approved by the Liberal government by the former industry minister, who scrutinized the investment review decision because it exceeded the $600-million threshold.

In an article published earlier last year, the union head of B.C. said, “It's pretty clear that this company is in crisis and unable to provide adequate care at a growing number of its sites.... It's a big problem, because the company's also the largest contracted provider of long-term-care beds in B.C.” There have been other articles during the pandemic about the high proportion of deaths in Anbang facilities.

We would think that the failure to uphold Canadian standards by the state-owned enterprise would have resulted in some sort of action by the federal government, and nothing has happened to date. It is highly problematic.

Therefore, will moving all long-term care facilities into public care fix all of these problems? There is a strong argument to be made that the process used to approve the Anbang sale was certainly deadly for many Canadian seniors. Moving to a fully public model would need a strong framework to evaluate what would change. For example, how would provincial governments absorb this responsibility and over what period of time? What would this mean for seniors and workers? What is the framework of that care guarantee?

As well, I think that for-profit care providers now need to show that clear evidence that making profit off of long-term care can be combined with a high certainty of standards of care. That needs to be presented, as more clarity is needed. I am glad we are having a discussion about how to move forward, and no proposed solution at this point should be outright dismissed. We should not be saying that this is not our job to look at.

On the issue of jurisdiction, which everyone is dancing around today, the reality is that the federal government has paid billions of dollars for health care and the federal government provides guidelines and best practices for all sorts of areas of care. The question becomes why the federal government has not moved in this regard. I am not saying that we need to take, as everbody is saying, an “Ottawa knows best” approach, but after overseeing the sale of Anbang and not doing anything about that, it is very convenient to just abdicate responsibility.

At least we are talking about a solution here today. Again, there is more work to be done before moving to one conclusion or another on what the fix is, but I am glad that we are having this discussion today.

With that, and because I am always for finding solutions, I move, seconded by the member for Battlefords—Lloydminster, that the motion be amended by replacing all of the words after “the House call upon the government to” with the following: “collaborate and partner with the provinces, territories, seniors' advocates and care-giving organizations to: (a) improve long-term care standards including taking a leadership role and promoting best practices while recognizing the diversity of needs and challenges across the country; (b) ensure that long-term care homes have adequate access to PPE, rapid tests and an effective vaccine rollout; (c) direct existing federal infrastructure and housing funding toward new construction and the renovation of long-term care facilities; (d) develop immediate and medium-term solutions to address the critical staffing needs in long-term care facilities; (e) increase mental health supports for front-line health care workers, residents and their families.”

Let us get to a solution today.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

It is my duty to inform hon. members that an amendment to an opposition motion may be moved only with the consent of the sponsor of the motion. Therefore, I ask the hon. member for Burnaby South if he consents to this amendment being moved?

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Madam Speaker, respectfully, I say no. It is fundamental that we remove profit from long-term care given all the evidence. I appreciate the gesture, but I respectfully say no.