Human Resources committee  It's definitely an ageism issue, and I would add that it's a gender issue, because the majority of residents who are in long-term care are women and the majority of health care providers who work in a long-term care system are predominantly women, and also racialized women or new

Human Resources committee  Yes, I feel that no one person is the source of the best ideas. I feel that it has to be a collaborative effort, meaning the federal level, the provinces, the municipalities, the stakeholders, the advocates and the families coming together and working together collaboratively in

Human Resources committee  Well, yes, and it's also just from the conversations that I've had with friends, primarily in Quebec and B.C., and comparing notes in terms of what was being done in those provinces. However, I'm sure if I started speaking to families from other provinces we'd see disparity as w

Human Resources committee  Definitely. I'm advocating for my mom, but I'm also advocating for all the other residents. My fear is that because of privacy issues and confidentiality, whenever I'm dealing with the home or with the health care providers or the hospital, I can never talk about someone else bec

Human Resources committee  In the case of my mom, my mom was somewhat engaged. She did talk. When music was being played, she would readily clap her hands—not that she understood what was going on, but she had energy. Now when I visit with her, she sleeps most of the time. When she is awake, I can't get he

Human Resources committee  When I made the suggestion about national standards for long-term care, my point was not that Ottawa would be dictating the quality of standards that would be imposed for each of the provinces. What I feel is that, yes, the federal government has an obligation to provide funding

Human Resources committee  Again, my mom was engaged and she was talking. She's not talking now. With many of the other residents, it was disheartening to watch those who were mobile and conversable. They are now less so than they were. They now need assistance with feeding. They need to be engaged, or the

Human Resources committee  In response to that question, I feel it needs to be regulated. In Ontario, it is part of the Long-Term Care Homes Act. However, in B.C.—I have friends in B.C.—there is no such act and there is no such thing as a family council. What families have had to do, my friends included, i

Human Resources committee  I feel that it has to be a collaborative approach. You need to have many people at the table, and definitely frontline workers. Here in Ontario, we have a very strong registered nurses association that's been a very strong advocate and proponent for the quality of care that res

Human Resources committee  The biggest example is the fact that my mom has a stage 4 bedsore. When it happened, it was in the three weeks while the families were being locked out. The home and the various people at the table knew that we had a shortage of nurses, specifically of registered nurses, so it wa

Human Resources committee  A lot of my advocacy is not to attack the staff. The staff have done the best that they can, but they're in a no-win situation. The funding levels and staffing ratios are completely inadequate to provide the level of care that our seniors need, especially in long-term care, where

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Distinguished members of HUMA, thank you for allowing me to participate in the valuable work that this committee has been tasked to undertake. As you know, I'm Mary Oko. I'm appearing before you today as a family member whose mom is currently at Copernicus