11 thoughts on “Working Toward Sustainable Health Care System For Ontarians”

1. UPDATE~~ Navigating the tangled web of home care

   Home care is a great idea, and one that most Ontario residents support, but the problem is government can’t get it right.

   Let’s start with the agency overseeing home care. It used to be there was a local Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) to oversee home care. This was a program of the PC government in 1996, and it replaced the system put in place by prior governments. Then the Liberals tweaked that system, and eventually replaced it with Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN). Another change of government and we now see the present government roll out Ontario Health atHome to replace the LHIN.

   As a former staffer working for MPP Toby Barrett, I must say that with a local connection under the CCAC, the system was more responsive to residents and lobbying for the people of the riding was more effective. With each subsequent change, there is always talk of efficiencies and reducing bureaucracy. I am all for efficiency and spending more of our valuable health care dollars on service delivery, not administration, but the improvements in care are still to be seen.

   The auditor general’s special report in 2014 recommended streamlining the relationship between the CCAC and LHIN.

   One common thread through all these changes has been service delivery through private-sector providers. It increased under the LHINs from the former government, which will be critical of privatizing under the current government – that’s politics for you.

   Now, under the government’s Bill 135, more changes are in store. Also called The Convenient Care at Home Act, the legislation will create a new agency called Ontario Health at Home, which will be a subsidiary of Ontario Health. The new agency will be an amalgamation of the LHINs, which will eventually cease to exist. Bill 135 will allow Family Health Teams to run care coordination.

   Dealing with people on the front line, there has been one constant through all these changes: people aren’t getting the care they need. This problem is getting worse, not better. The current challenge seems to be a shortage of PSWs to deliver these services. To their credit, the government is trying to address this, but haven’t committed to extending a competitive wage to those in homecare, which seems to be the number one issue cited by those in the industry.

   Bill 135 has been assigned to the Standing Committee on Social Policy, and this past week I spent nearly two days listening to public hearings on the bill. The majority of those who presented believe the bill will make matters worse and should be scrapped. Some believed it might have a good foundation but were wary given the legislation does not articulate the outcomes for patients. Further privatization is what most people are concerned about and with most legislation, the devil will likely be in the details (regulations).

   I asked many presenters if they had been consulted prior to Bill 135 being introduced – the majority had not. Perhaps government needs to conduct public hearings prior to floating trial balloons, instead of after the fact.

   At the time of writing, I am working on my amendments to the bill which will include, but likely ruled out of order, that the government repeal Bill 124.

   We all like home. We all like our own bed; therefore, home care is the way to go, so it’s my hope one day government can get it right. If Bill 135 is the solution will remain to be seen, but I don’t have high expectations if history is any indication.

   Bobbi Ann Brady MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk.

2. UPDATE March 16 2023
   Clear and transparent details needed on Your Health Act

   I continually interact with constituents, and each person gives me their opinion of the Ontario government and the job I’m doing.

   Recently, I was invited to a town hall meeting in Port Dover to discuss our healthcare system. The discussion centered around Bill 60, Your Health Act (2023). Before I address the concerns raised, I’ll discuss in a nutshell what Bill 60 is intended to do. The Bill itself is a long and winding document, so I’ll give you the Coles Notes.

   Bill 60, Your Health Act (2023), is essentially a three-step strategy to ease surgical and other healthcare backlogs that will see some for-profit community surgical and diagnostic centres take on more responsibilities, including additional surgeries and other medical procedures.

   The first step entails making investments in “new partnerships with community surgical and diagnostic centres” to cut the waitlist for cataract surgeries, which would ensure 14,000 more surgeries per year. Both not-for-profit and for-profit centres would be utilized.

   Ontario will also invest in excess of $18 million in existing centres to handle other procedural care like MRI and CT scans, ophthalmic surgeries, minimally invasive gynecological surgeries and plastic surgeries.

   The second step directs a further expansion of “non-urgent, low-risk and minimally invasive” procedures.

   Lastly, part of the third and final step would allow private clinics to conduct hip and knee replacement surgeries as early as 2024.

   More legislation is promised as part of the third step in order to strengthen oversight of community surgical settings. No information was provided about what that oversight will include. Premier Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones have yet to detail how they’ll fund these clinics or provide assurances on their plan actually delivering value for Ontarians.

   Therein lies the problem and much of the foundation of the town hall discussion last week. The government hasn’t been clearly communicating exact plans past the first step. I think what I’ve heard from the government sounds good at a high level, but I need to see more detail before I can fully support this plan.

   This not knowing leads to skepticism and fear, especially among stakeholders protecting their turf in the name of protecting Ontarians. Certain stakeholders have cautioned about exacerbated staffing shortages in hospitals, arguing that investing in independent centres will drain resources from the public sector.

   The province’s opposition parties and five major healthcare unions consider the plan “a risky venture that will cost Ontarians dearly and damage access to public care.” The NDP feel Bill 60 would pull staff from hospitals and that those hospitals are not working at full capacity due to government underfunding. I share these concerns.

   There are some people out there worried they will have to pay from their own pocket. Ontario has had privatization within health care for decades. LifeLabs and the Shouldice Hospital are examples which both show this can work without abuse. And Premier Ford and Minister Jones have emphasized many times that, despite claims to the contrary, no one will be paying for healthcare with their credit card, it will be with their OHIP card.

   The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario generally supports expanding access to diagnostic procedures in community settings, but they also worry it portends a negative impact on staffing throughout the health-care system.

   I feel the reforms are positive and past due in order to give Ontarians the healthcare system we deserve. The government continues to do the same thing—throw money at a system that shows no improvement.

   Bill 60 may be a case where the government’s bedside manner needs to improve in terms of communicating to the taxpayer how they will be giving our healthcare system the “medicine” it needs to heal.

   Bobbi Ann Brady MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk

3. Health care problems boil down to a lack of people
   [Yes] -it all boils down to people.

   That simple statement sums up the problems facing health care today. However, the situation and solutions are much deeper.

   The shortage of personal support workers (PSWs) became apparent during the pandemic. These dedicated workers provide daily care to residents in retirement and nursing homes. They also are a crucial part of the province’s home support program, going into private residences to assist seniors and others with simple medical procedures and help with bathing, personal care and household chores.

   While the lack of PSWs became mainstream news over the past few years, the problem has been going on much longer. As an employee of Toby Barrett for 23 years, I witnessed the PSW shortage well before the pandemic. I’ve also seen aging at home only works when the vital services our seniors require are in place.

   To the government’s credit, they tackled the issue during the pandemic, offering free tuition for PSW students and providing a $3 per hour wage boost for PSWs. Despite these initiatives, the problem has not gone away. My office still hears there aren’t enough PSWs and that sometimes the services the client requires are not part of the service provided.

   More recently, a shortage of nurses has been front and centre. Overworked and burnt out, some nurses have retired early – some of our very best nurses. Others were just part of a large cohort of people reaching retirement age. Some were forced to leave their profession due to their institution’s vaccination mandates. I have been clear and called on the Minister of Health in the Ontario Legislature to put every qualified healthcare professional back on the job. Lives depend on whether or not there are enough hands on deck.

   There was some good news recently when the province announced the expansion of its Learn and Stay grant program. The Ontario Learn and Stay Grant provides funding for students’ tuition and books if studying in priority programs in priority communities in Ontario, including Southwestern Ontario. Nursing, practical nursing and paramedics are among the programs. In return, the student must work in an underserviced area for six months for each year the program covers them. The government had previously announced the approval of foreign-trained nurses, something I called for in the last election campaign. Please keep in mind these are nurses who were already living in Ontario and perhaps not working or were working at an unrelated job.

   The government can go further, though. Many retired nurses have told me they were graduates of a two-year college program and questioned the need for a four-year graduate degree in nursing. This would accelerate the rate nurses can graduate.

   Doctors are another health care professional group in short supply in rural areas, including Haldimand and Norfolk. Again, a huge cohort is retiring or on the verge of retiring.

   A medical student who wants to work in rural Ontario recently wrote my office, expressing his frustration that there are only 20 seats in the Queen’s University rural medicine program. I agree with him that there need to be more seats available to fill this growing void and have written to the Ministry of Health asking why we aren’t opening more spaces.

   Locally, I was heartened to see Norfolk County and Norfolk General Hospital have formed a team to look at doctor recruitment.

   Ontario’s surgical situation has been in the news lately, with the announcement that some procedures will be funded through OHIP at private clinics to speed up the backlog. I am wary of this proposal, fearful that the private clinics will siphon personnel away from hospitals already short staffed. That being said, other provinces have taken this step and witnessed success.

   No doubt this perfect storm of retiring workers and a lack of qualified replacements has resulted in a crisis in Ontario. People’s lives are dependent on finding a solution.

   Bobbi Ann Brady Independent MPP Haldimand-Norfolk

4. MPP Brady says it’s time to get all hands on deck in Ontario hospitals

   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
   Nov 1, 2022

   QUEEN’S PARK – When will Ontario’s Minister of Health put all qualified healthcare workers back on the frontlines?  That was the question Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Bobbi Ann Brady asked in the Ontario Legislature this morning.
   During Question Period, MPP Brady informed her colleagues that Norfolk General Hospital, this past Sunday, temporarily reduced services in the emergency department.  “…this is a staffing issue and we are just beginning cold and flu season,” Brady said. “…the buck stops with the minister, with this government.”

   Over the past 36 hours, Brady said she has been contacted by many constituents who are extremely worried their local hospital will implement further reductions in the weeks and months ahead.

   Brady then asked, “Will the minister stand up today and tell every qualified healthcare worker she will do everything possible to get them all back to work in Haldimand-Norfolk and in all hospitals across Ontario to avoid further reductions and shutdowns?”

   In her line of questioning, Brady encouraged the government to both scrap Bill 124 (a bill that continues to gut our system of nurses) and to clean up surgical backlog by setting up standalone centres.  She also informed the Minister that many retired nurses have told her that returning to a two-year college nursing program would get more people on the frontlines faster.

   Health Minister Sylvia Jones agreed that the file was ignored for far too long by the previous Liberal government but that the Ford government is doing everything to ensure that healthcare is protected.
   -30-
   For more information, contact MPP Bobbi Ann Brady at babrady-co@ola.org or 519-428-0446

   YOUTUBE LINK: https://youtu.be/tbUbC8Lw380

   ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
   DRAFT HANSARD
   Nov. 1, 2022
   HEALTH CARE WORKERS
   Ms. Bobbi Ann Brady: My question is for the Minister of Health. As we know, Ontario’s health care system is in crisis. To be fair, health care has been in disaster mode for a long time, but you are the government of the day and it’s up to you to fix it.
   Speaker, this government must restore respect by scrapping Bill 124, a bill that continues to gut our system of nursing. It’s time to clean up surgical backlogs by setting up standalone centres. I’ve spoken to many retired nurses who believe that returning to a two-year college nursing program would get more people on the front lines faster. That’s part of a plan, and yet all I hear and see from this government on this file is tinkering.
   Health care workers have lost faith in their profession and have left. They continue to leave and others have been sidelined. I haven’t seen any action with respect to enticing health care workers back to the front lines. As we watch Ontario’s hospitals bleed out, what does the minister have to say for those who’ve lost faith or who have been forced to watch from the sidelines?
   Hon. Sylvia Jones: Minister of Health and Deputy Premier.
   Hon. Sylvia Jones: Thank you, Speaker. I’m always happy to talk about our plans to stay open. It is frankly a very important tenet of how we are making sure that our hospitals, our long-term care and our community care are working at full capacity so they can look after the individuals who need help, where they need it, when they need it. We have worked very well with the College of Nurses of Ontario. In fact, we have over 1,000 new internationally educated RNs who are licensed and practising in the province of Ontario because of the changes our government has made.
   The member opposite is right on one thing. The member opposite is right one point, and that is that this file was ignored for far too long. We have Auditor General reports saying that we had a shortage of family physicians in northern Ontario. Did the government of day do anything? No. It took Premier Ford and this government to act and make the changes needed to make sure that our health care system is protected.
   Ms. Bobbi Ann Brady: Speaker, that response is a bit disappointing because the member opposite should have said she will do everything possible to get every qualified worker back on the front lines. We need them all, and we need them today.
   Sunday night, one of my local hospitals, Norfolk General, issued a statement that effective immediately, services in the emergency department could be temporarily reduced. This is a staffing issue, and we’re just at the beginning of cold and flu season. The release issued by the hospital said, and I quote, “This temporary reduction in hours is necessary and is beyond the control of the hospital and physicians in the community.”
   This means the buck stops with the minister, with this government. Over the past 36 hours, my constituents have been reaching out to me. They are worried they are going to see more of these reductions in the coming weeks and months. Will the minister stand up today and tell every qualified health care worker that she will do everything possible get them all back to work in Haldimand–Norfolk and in all hospitals across Ontario to avoid further reductions and shut downs?
   Hon. Sylvia Jones: This question gives me an opportunity to highlight some of the things that have already occurred as we talk about short, medium and long-term goals. We have, with our plan to stay open, added over 6,000 more health care workers, including nurses and personal support workers to Ontario’s health resource workforce. We will free up 2,500 hospital beds so that care is there for those who need it, and we will expand models of care that provide better, more appropriate care to avoid unnecessary visits to emergency departments.
   There is no doubt that our government is seized with this issue. It is happening internationally across other country interests, across Canadian jurisdictions to make sure that we have sufficient health human resources, but we’re doing the work here in Ontario to make sure that people who want to practise and work in the health care system have that opportunity here in Ontario.

5. Long-term care bill scarce in details
   UPDATE Sept 215 2022 via MPP Brady–
   
   Ontario’s Bill 7, More Beds, Better Care Act, 2022, recently passed through the Legislature. I voted against Bill 7 because it was scarce in details.
   
   Sometimes it’s not what the legislation contains but rather the information it doesn’t.

   I agree the issue of ALC (alternative level of care) beds has long plagued our province’s hospitals. Ontario hospitals have nearly 6,000 patients in ALC beds, and the current government wants to move them out. Given there is already a long list of seniors waiting for a long-term care bed, it begs the question of where the government will move these 6,000 patients. At the beginning of 2022, about 3,500 people in the Haldimand-Norfolk catchment area were waiting to get into a long-term care home.
   While the previous government failed to build new homes, families are concerned Bill 7 will see loved ones moved from a hospital to a long-term care facility far from home.
   The legislation will not allow patients to be physically forced into a long-term care home; however, questions remain about who will foot the bill for the continued ALC bed if they refuse a transfer. That ALC bed could become an uninsured bed at the cost of up to $1,800 per day.
   While the question of cost has been asked several times over the past few weeks, the best the Premier has offered is that the price per day will not be what he called an “absolutely ridiculous” $1,800 per day. The Premier, however, has of yet, not told us who will pay.
   Families fear officials will coerce seniors into moving far from home if they must choose between a transfer or paying out of pocket. Coercion is no way to fix our ailing healthcare system, and it is no way to treat our seniors who have worked hard and deserve only the best in their golden years.
   I do not believe this bill has anything to do with opening-up hospital beds because, as I mentioned above, there are few beds available in nursing homes across Ontario. This spring, the government announced it was on track to build 30,000 new long-term care beds by 2028. I fully support the creation of additional beds. However, Bill 7 will be enacted well before 2028. Over the past year, I have seen beds approved at local facilities, and yet we continue to wait for the expansion of these homes.
   If the government wants to open up ALC beds and move seniors into nursing homes within their community, they could start by getting shovels in the ground at homes where beds were previously approved. If they had made good on past promises, patients would not be lying in ALC beds, and they would already be in long-term care close to home.
   After carefully considering the bill, I remain unclear about its true intention. Time will tell, I suppose. Perhaps we’d all be less suspicious if the government had sent the legislation to a committee where the public could have asked questions and given feedback. Instead, the government decided to ram Bill 7 through the House so they could move seniors into fictitious beds where a shortage of nurses and personal support workers remain.
   Bobbi Ann Brady is the MPP Haldimand-Norfolk

6. UPDATE Nov 2021
   New legislation to fix our long-term care homes

   After decades of neglect, our government continues to take the action necessary to fix long-term care. For decades, not enough beds or staff were available, and not enough attention was being paid to the concerns of the people who live and work in long-term care homes.

   Last month, on October 28th, as part of our plan to fix the sector, we introduced the Providing More Care, Protecting Seniors, and Building More Beds Act, 2021. If passed, this legislation will improve the well-being of residents in long-term care and retirement homes and support our commitments to increase staffing for more hours of direct care, enhance accountability and build beds that are more modern.

   The plan is built on three pillars: staffing and care; accountability, enforcement and transparency; and building modern, safe comfortable homes for our seniors.

   Seniors entering long-term care today are older and have more complex medical needs than they did just a decade ago. The level of care residents require increased dramatically, but the amount of care they receive did not. In the nine years between 2009 and 2018, the amount of care that each resident received increased by only 22 minutes. Residents need more care.

   This legislation will make Ontario the leader in quality long-term care in Canada by making us the first jurisdiction committing to four hours of care and doing it through legislation. It would also establish our government’s commitment to increase the direct care provided by other health care professionals such as social workers, dieticians and occupational therapists, in addition to nurses and personal support workers.

   Increasing staff to support an increase in care has been championed by residents and families for decades. More staff equals more quality care.

   The second pillar of our plan to fix long-term care is protecting residents through better accountability, enforcement and transparency. We will update the Residents’ Bill of Rights, including the addition of a right to be supported by a caregiver and the right to be provided with care and services based on a palliative care philosophy.

   Central to the legislation are measures that would strengthen enforcement. People need to trust that our most vulnerable will be safe and enjoy a quality of life they deserve, and that is why this legislation includes increasing fines. It would double the fines on conviction of an offence for individuals to $200,000 for a first offences and $400,000 for a second offence. For corporations, there would be an 150 per cent increase to $500,000 for a first offence and $1 million for second offences.

   The act would give the ministry director or the Minister of Long-Term Care the authority to suspend a licence and take over a long-term care home without having to first revoke the licence and close the facility.

   The third and final pillar is building modern, safe and comfortable homes for our seniors. Part of the changes include allowing licensees to focus their resources on redeveloping homes and on resident care, and streamlining the process for a changes to existing licences such as a small increase in the number of beds.

   This legislation would complement our unprecedented $2.68-billion commitment to build 30,000 net new beds this decade. There are already over 20,000 new and 15,000 upgraded beds in the pipeline including significant new build in Haldimand-Norfolk.

   Toby Barrett MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk

7. UPDATE Why I support government’s paid sick leave bill
   Province to reimburse employers for up to three paid leave days related to COVID-19 for every employee

   QUEEN’S PARK – While the Ontario government continues to work with the federal government to further support vulnerable workers by doubling payments made through the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) program, the province will introduce legislation that, if passed, will offer up to three paid sick days per employee.
   
   For months, Ontario has been advocating the federal government to fill in gaps in sick pay through the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, & we will continue with these efforts, but in the meantime I look forward to voting in favour of Ontario government legislation to provide up to three days of paid sick leave for employees missing work because of COVID-19.

   On Thursday, April 29, 2021, Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, will introduce legislation that would, if passed, require employers to provide employees with up to $200 of pay for up to three days if they are missing work because of COVID-19. This program will be retroactive to April 19, 2021 and effective until September 25, 2021, the date the CRSB will expire.

   By providing time-limited access to three paid leave days, the province is ensuring employees can pay their bills as they help stop the spread of the virus, including by getting tested, waiting for their results in isolation or going to get their vaccine. The province will partner with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to deliver the program and reimburse employers up to $200 per day for each employee.

   “Our government has long advocated for the federal government to enhance the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit program to better protect the people of Ontario, especially our tireless essential workers,” said Minister McNaughton. “It is a tremendously positive step that the federal government has signaled their willingness to continue discussions on the CRSB. Now we can fix the outstanding gap in the federal program so workers can get immediate support and can stay home when needed.”

   The province has also offered to provide funding to the federal government to double CRSB payments to Ontario residents, adding an additional $500 per week to eligible individuals for a total of $1,000 per week. Combined with the province’s proposed three days of paid COVID-19 leave, doubling the CRSB would provide Ontario workers with access to the most generous pandemic paid leave in the country.

   “Ontario is very proud of those working throughout this unprecedented time to keep essential parts of our economy and local communities open through the pandemic,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board. “The government of Canada and Ontario have done a historic job delivering the Safe Restart Agreement last year. New provincial funding would allow eligible individuals to receive a total of $1000 per week through the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit program if missing work because of COVID-19. Ontario looks forward to continuing discussions to secure Ottawa’s commitment to administer the program with the top-up to all Ontario applicants. We believe that this is the simplest and fastest way to increase program uptake and make this program more effective for those people who need this program most.”

   If an eligible worker learns that they must isolate for longer than 50 per cent of the time they would have otherwise worked for the week, whether because of a positive COVID-19 test or risk of exposure, they may apply for the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit if they haven’t taken a paid leave day under this proposal.

   This latest measure builds on other existing provincial supports like job protected leave and access to isolation facilities, making Ontario’s approach the most comprehensive COVID-19 sick leave in the country.

   Employers and their workers can call a dedicated COVID-19 Sick Days Information Centre hotline at 1-888-999-2248 or visit Ontario.ca/COVIDworkerbenefit to get more information and updates about the proposed Ontario COVID-19 paid leave days.

   The province continues to visit workplaces to ensure they are adhering to COVID-19 safety requirements. Since the beginning of 2021, occupational health and safety inspectors and multi-ministry teams of provincial offences officers have conducted more than 21,900 COVID-19-related workplace inspections and investigations across the province. During these visits, more than 17,260 orders and more than 520 COVID-19-related tickets have been issued, and unsafe work related to COVID-19 has been stopped 35 times.

   As the Ontario government continues to do what is necessary to control the spread of COVID-19, it remains vital for the federal government to secure more vaccines sooner and close the loopholes in border restrictions that will continue to allow new, more contagious variants to enter the country.

   Quick Facts

   Currently, the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) provides $500 per week, before taxes.
   Recipients are entitled to up to four weeks between September 27, 2020, and September 25, 2021.
   As of April 11, 2021, over $600 million of the $1.1 billion committed by the federal government as part of the Safe Restart Agreement currently remains unclaimed.

   Additional Resources

   Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit
   Resources to prevent COVID-19 in the workplace
   COVID-19 safety checklist for workplaces
   COVID-19 self-isolation and return to work

   For more information, contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or toby.barrett@pc.ola.org Please mention the Silo when contacting.

8. Ontario makes historic investment in long-term care

   DUNNVILLE — The Ontario government is making an historic investment in 80 new long-term care projects — (including two in my own constituency of Haldimand-Norfolk) that will lead to 132 new and 60 upgraded long-term care spaces. These spaces are part of the government’s delivery of 30,000 much-needed long-term care spaces over ten years.

   Local projects are:

   · Delhi Long Term Care Centre is being allocated 68 new spaces and 60 upgraded spaces. The project will result in a 128-bed home through the construction of a new building in Delhi as part of a campus of care.

   · The Haldimand War Memorial Hospital is being allocated 64 new spaces to expand Edgewater Gardens. The project will result in a 128-bed home through the construction of a new building in Dunnville as part of a campus of care.

   In addition to modernizing the long-term care sector, these projects will help reduce waitlists and end hallway medicine. Province-wide, these investments also support key government priorities, including eliminating three and four bed ward rooms, creating campuses of care and providing new spaces for Indigenous, Francophone and other cultural community residents.

   “The number of people in Haldimand-Norfolk who will need long-term care is expected to rise over the next decade,” said Toby Barrett, MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk. “Today’s announcement will help ensure we have safe and modern spaces ready for them.”

   “Our loved ones in long-term care deserve a comfortable, modern place to live, near family and friends, with the support they need when they need it,” said Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Long-Term Care. “These new and upgraded spaces, built to modern design standards, will help prevent and contain the transmission of infectious diseases and ensure residents have access to the care they need in a safe and secure environment.”

   
   Criteria for selecting the projects being announced today included:

   · Upgrading older homes in response to lessons learned around improved Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) measures, particularly the elimination of three and four-bed rooms;

   · Adding spaces to areas where there is high need;

   · Addressing the growing needs of diverse groups, including Francophone and Indigenous communities; and/or,

   · Promoting campuses of care to better address the specialized care needs of residents.

   QUICK FACTS

   § These projects are part Ontario’s Long-Term Care Modernization Plan.

   § As of December 2020, more than 40,000 people across Ontario were on the waitlist to access a long-term care bed.

   § Across the province, the Ontario government is moving forward with 80 new long-term care projects, which will lead to an additional 7,510 new and 4,197 upgraded long-term care spaces.

   § Ontario is investing $933 million in these projects provincewide, on top of the $1.75 billion already earmarked for the delivery of 30,000 new spaces over ten years.

   § With this new allocation, Ontario now has 20,161 new and 15,918 redevelopment spaces in the development pipeline.

   § Ontario has committed to an average of four hours of direct care per day for our loved ones living in long term care homes. Ontario is the first province in Canada to take this important step.

   ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

   Visit Ontario’s website to learn more about how the province continues to protect Ontarians from COVID-19.

   For public inquiries call ServiceOntario, INFOline at 1-866-532-3161 (Toll-free in Ontario only)
   For more info call my office at 519 428 0466

9. UPDATE
   Back to building long-term care beds in Ontario

   Help is on the way for long-term care, a sector that saw only 611 new beds built
   between 2011 and 2018. Many long-term care homes were constructed before 1970, and
   outdated rooms are in dire need of redevelopment.

   Previously, when I served with Premier Harris, we initiated construction of 20,000
   long-term care beds. This included locally the new Edgewater Gardens, Grandview,
   Parkview Meadows and Norview.

   Premier Ford is committed to constructing 30,000 beds over 10 years. We are putting
   shovels in the ground to initially create 8,000 new long-term care beds, and
   redevelopment of 12,000 existing ones.

   Governments of all stripes have talked about solutions and tried for two decades to
   build long-term care but have failed. They have rebranded the same financial model
   time and again without producing any significant results. Yet, no one thought to
   ask, “Why isn’t this working?”

   Our government is taking historic steps to improve the lives of our seniors. Dr.
   Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Long-Term Care, has spent the past year meeting with
   the long-term care sector in order to remove barriers to building long-term care
   homes in Ontario.

   Earlier this month, Premier Ford and Minister Fullerton announced a new modernized
   funding model that our government is applying to the building of new long-term care
   homes and upgrading of older homes to modern standards. Designed around the specific
   needs of different regional markets, this model is going to incentivize long-term
   care operators to invest in building and renovating homes in all corners of Ontario,
   including right here in Haldimand – Norfolk.

   Putting our government’s historic $1.75 billion investment in long-term care
   capacity growth to work, this funding model will increase upfront funding and cover
   key development charges, making it easier to get projects off the ground and get
   more residents the care they need, fast. The model is tailored to overcome localized
   barriers and meet community needs in each of four market segments (based on
   population size): rural, mid-size, urban, and large urban.

   As of today, applications have already been submitted for two big long-term care
   projects that would build 126 new beds and upgrade 130 older beds in our own
   backyard. If these applications move forward, this modernized funding model would
   help make the projects a reality and provide local long-term care residents with
   new, modern places to call home.

   Our modernized funding model is one key part of repairing the cracks in our aging
   long-term care system, addressing our growing waitlist, building healthier and safer
   communities, and getting us closer to ending hallway health care.

   We are served by the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant and South West LHINs (Local
   Health Integration Networks), which together have 17,980 long-term care beds, a
   waitlist of 5,123 vulnerable seniors, and a median wait time of 86 days for
   admission.

   By making smart investments to modernize long-term care, we can build a stronger
   system and ensure our loved ones have access to the care and comfort they deserve,
   now and in the future.

   The sector told our government what they needed to get shovels in the ground and
   deliver care for our seniors, and we listened. This innovative new model will help
   get the job done faster and get aging Ontarians the care they need sooner.

   Toby Barrett
   MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk

10. UPDATE Ontario’s Public Health starts with prevention and health promotion

    To build healthier communities, the Ontario government must consider how best to
    deliver public health in a way that is resilient, efficient, nimble and modern. This
    must be done in a way that meets the evolving health needs and priorities of
    Ontario’s families.

    For too long, public health has existed in isolation from the broader health care
    system – a concern highlighted by Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk. The
    provincial government has now developed a comprehensive plan to help keep Ontarians
    healthy and out of hospitals through prevention and health promotion.

    In 2017, the Auditor General reported public health units are poorly coordinated and
    duplicate work. She also reported public health services are delivered
    inconsistently across the province. Christine Elliott, Ontario’s Deputy Premier and
    Minister of Health, has shouldered the responsibility to help build a public health
    care system that works for all. We feel past governments forgot the nearly three
    million people who live outside of major metropolitan areas who face unique
    challenges.

    An example of this is the provincially-funded Seniors Dental Program – available in
    urban centres under the previous government but only introduced in Haldimand-Norfolk
    in 2019. This was an election promise our government made and kept.

    While our government is proud of the progress made over the past year, particularly
    in starting to correct the long-standing inequities, which have disadvantaged rural
    and remote small-town communities like Haldimand-Norfolk, we need to do more. The
    status quo is not an option.

    There is great value in the excellent work done in communities across the province
    that is keeping people healthy. To that end, the Ontario government is working with
    its municipal partners to design a public health system centered on the following
    principles: consistency and equity of service delivery across the province; improved
    clarity and alignment of roles and responsibilities between the province, Public
    Health Ontario and local health; unlock and promote leading innovative practices and
    strengths across Ontario; and closer relationships to primary care and the broader
    health care system to end hallway health care and improve health promotion and
    prevention.

    The province has increased the municipal share of funding for public health programs
    from 25 to 30 per cent four public health programs. However, last year the province
    offered one-time mitigation funding to assist local health boards and municipalities
    manage increased costs for the 2020 calendar year. In 2019, the provincial
    government contributed approximately $7 million in funding to the Haldimand-Norfolk
    Health Unit to support the provision of public health programs and services.

    Through the Municipal Modernization Fund, the Ontario government is investing $200
    million to help 405 small and rural municipalities realize efficiencies and plan for
    their future. Both Haldimand and Norfolk Counties received $725,000.

    Recently, there have been staff reductions at the local health unit. Bear in mind,
    public health nurses are the frontline workers that prevent infectious disease and
    provide health services to those who don’t have a family doctor.

    The elimination of key programs is unique to our area and not witnessed across the
    province. Will these program cuts bring savings? What are the efficiencies being
    realized?

    Through coordination, collaboration and cooperation, we can tackle the challenges
    and take hold of these opportunities to build a more robust and effective public
    health system.

    Toby Barrett MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk
    

11. UPDATE
    Our mental health and addictions system is overwhelmed

    I had a 20-year career with the Ontario Addiction Research Foundation (ARF) prior to
    becoming an MPP. ARF was a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre and one of
    the premier alcohol and drug research organizations in the world.

    We always knew there was no panacea, no silver bullet, for the misuse of alcohol and
    other drugs given its myriad interconnectedness within society. It required a
    constellation of approaches through research, treatment, enforcement, prevention,
    education and health promotion.

    My wife, who is a psychiatric social worker, holds a similar view with respect to
    mental health.

    Ontario has a mental health and addictions system that, in spite of the good efforts
    of front-line workers, is overwhelmed by extensive wait times, significant barriers
    to access, a lack of standardized data, and widespread bureaucracy.

    Current data reveals one in three Canadians will experience a mental health and
    addictions issue within their lifetime – 70 per cent of those issues will develop
    early in life, either in childhood or as a young adult. Recent data also reveals,
    between 2016 and 2017, roughly 158,000 Ontarians visited an emergency department for
    a mental health or addictions-related issue. This number continues to increase
    annually. Half a million Canadians call in sick to work because of a mental health
    or addictions issue. These are staggering numbers.

    We are committed to building an integrated mental health and addictions service
    system that will support people throughout their entire lives – a system where
    services are easier to access, are of high quality, and focused on better outcomes.
    We have already invested $174 million in 2019-2020 to support community mental
    health and addictions services, justice services, supportive housing, acute mental
    health in-patient beds, and child and youth mental health services. These funds will
    also provide early supports and stabilize services provided in schools, community
    organizations, health centres, and hospitals across Ontario.

    This funding is part of our overall commitment to inject $3.8 billion over 10 years
    into mental health and addictions. However, we need to ensure these investments make
    sense.

    We propose the establishment of a Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence
    within Ontario Health to develop clinical quality-of-service standards, and to
    monitor metrics related to performance. It would also provide resources and support
    to health care service providers, integrated care delivery systems, and others in
    the mental health and addictions sector. This will ensure the best possible care to
    people in need.

    We will also hold drug manufacturers and wholesalers accountable for their role in
    the opioid crisis, whereby so many people became addicted to narcotic analgesics. If
    passed, the proposed legislation would allow the Ontario government to sue opioid
    manufacturers and wholesalers for their alleged wrongdoing. It would allow us to
    recover past, present and future health care costs due to opioid-related disease,
    injury or illness. We feel joining the BC lawsuit instead of launching our own is
    the best course of action at this time.

    Ontario has incurred productivity costs, because of premature morbidity and
    mortality, and long-term and short-term disability. We have incurred criminal
    justice costs, including police time, police work, courtroom and correctional
    expenditures for criminal offences partially or wholly attributable to opioid use.
    Our mental health and addictions system is overwhelmed, and cannot continue along
    the same way it has, and still expect different or better results.
    
    Toby Barrett MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk

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