Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona.
COVID-19 has been a tragic time for many, especially for the people working and living in for-profit long-term care homes. In fact, during the first wave, 82% of COVID deaths in Canada happened in long-term care. Over 12,000 long-term care residents and workers have died in Canada since the start of the pandemic. We know 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, and the unacceptable and poor living conditions for individuals living in for-profit long-term care have been further highlighted during the pandemic.
Elders and many disabled adults have been denied the right to live in dignity as a result of cuts, underfunding and privatization. Profits should never be gained from the violation of an individual's dignity.
It is beyond time that we take profit out of care. It is beyond time that individuals residing in long-term care are provided with a care guarantee that ensures a safe and dignified life. It is beyond time that young disabled persons are provided with a choice about whether they wish to reside within residential care. As Dr. Abraham Snaiderman, director of the neuropsychiatry clinic at the University Health Network's rehabilitation institute, noted, “Essentially it’s a default scenario because there is nowhere that a young person can go for long-term care, except a nursing home.”
We must do better, and the pandemic has highlighted the issues. Lives have been lost, and loved ones, friends and family members are lacking the safety, care and resources to stay safe. They find themselves in the most dire of circumstances, some just trying to survive.
We know, through what we have seen in long-term care, that we cannot leave it up to companies whose purpose is to make profit over individuals to determine who is worthy and who is not. All beings are sacred and worthy of care, but unfortunately for-profit care homes have not demonstrated this, as witnessed in Parkview Place, a Revera care home in my riding of Winnipeg Centre, where too many lives were lost. One life is too many. Friends, family, loved ones and workers were lost. I extend my condolences to all those who have been impacted in my community and across the country.
All of this is alarming because while for-profit care homes have only one-quarter of nursing home beds in Manitoba, they account for 44% of deaths that have occurred so far during COVID-19. We have heard stories about poor quality food and individuals with COVID left in rooms without care. So many lives have been lost. This is a crisis. Life is precious.
I want to be very clear: This is not the fault of workers. Many lost their lives as a result of the poor working conditions in long-term care. We certainly knew it before the pandemic, but we know even more now that care work in this country is not nearly valued enough.
We also know that some groups are more predominantly impacted, such as women, and in particular poor, BIPOC and immigrant women, who are often in precarious work situations and face exploitative working conditions. This is unacceptable and needs to end now. In fact, there are numerous reports indicating that many personal support workers were not even provided with adequate PPE during the pandemic. They had to supply their own protective gear from home. This is totally wrong and totally unacceptable. It is a total disrespect to workers and residents.
Care workers who are entrusted to care for residents in long-term care at the very least deserve a living wage, benefits, safe working conditions and security. That is why I am proud that today the NDP is proposing to take profit out of long-term care and put an end to public subsidies going to for-profit operators, which have paid out millions in dividends to shareholders. That money needs to be invested in caring for people, loved ones, friends and family members, and in ensuring safe working conditions for care workers.
The NDP understands this. It is why we have called for the development of a regulated system of long-term care, with national care standards that would include accountability mechanisms supported by federal funding. We need to improve working conditions for front-line workers in the long-term care sector. It is time for a living wage and for the proper training and resources required to improve working conditions, which in turn support better quality care for residents of long-term care. The way forward is to immediately work toward putting an end to for-profit long-term care.
Seniors and elders have inherent value in society, and in indigenous cultures globally, they are the backbone of our societies. They guide and direct decisions, and even today they are key decision-makers in our nations. Seniors did not just build this country; they continue to be leaders in our communities. Their knowledge and wisdom are essential for learning how to understand the world around us and how to live and thrive, not just survive. They are the ones who give us guidance about how we must move forward.
When I think about my ancestors and the many elders I look to for guidance even today, I have to acknowledge, as I think we must all acknowledge, their profound wisdom. For this reason, it is so disturbing that elders and seniors in our communities in long-term care are almost treated as though they are disposable. They are locked away in institutions where they are not even afforded basic human dignity. This needs to end now. I wanted to share that because we often speak about the vulnerability and weakness of our elders, but rarely do we look at their strength, resilience, wisdom and leadership, which make up an essential part of our communities. Elders are critical.
I want to end by taking a bit of time to talk about the culture of ableism, because I think, with everything we have been debating in the House, it is important to talk about it.
For far too long ableism has shaped long-term care, and this is seen through how we fund and organize institutions from—