QUEEN’S PARK – Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls), the Ontario NDP Critic for Long-Term Care Retirement Homes, and Home Care, issued the following statement in response to the ongoing sale of private long-term care homes to developers:
"The Ontario NDP is committed to taking private profits out of long-term care (LTC) and seniors care. We are calling on the Ford government to act urgently to:
- Ensure seniors living in affected long-term care homes are not relocated homes that separate them from their communities and loved ones
- Engage in partnerships with municipal and non-profit providers to assess the feasibility of their taking over these private care homes
- Stop issuing more licenses to for-profit owners who have a proven track record of putting private profits ahead of the well-being of Ontario’s seniors
Some for-profit long-term care homes are choosing to close and sell their land to private developers rather than keep up with essential maintenance, putting the government’s promise of 60,000 new and upgraded beds by 2028 at even greater risk. At a time when we desperately need new beds and increased capacity for seniors' care, Ford’s Conservatives are letting private companies abandon our loved ones to turn a profit. Seniors living in these homes are set to be displaced and relocated, potentially separated from their families and other loved ones. We also need more transparency about these backroom deals between these private companies and condo developers—one of the homes closed without any public notice or consultation.
Ontarians are already spending months on waitlists to find space in long-term care for their loved ones and are dealing with declining conditions inside many for-profit care homes. Under their watch, Ford’s Conservatives have allowed for gross mismanagement in the sector, causing immense harm to seniors and families across the province. This is just another example of that.
Allowing for-profit corporations who are beholden to shareholders to oversee senior care has been disastrous. These companies, with the support of Ford’s Conservatives, have always put profit over care with zero accountability for the harm they are causing.
It is well past time that this government stops putting profit over the care of our seniors.”