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Friday July 17, 2020

July 24, 2020 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday July 17, 2020

Heavy lifting for long-term care awaits Doug Ford

In the 100-kilometre journey to deliver a decent long-term-care system for Ontario, Doug Ford took a baby step forward this week.

June 17, 2020

By offering a 10 per cent subsidy hike to private-sector nursing home operators who open new beds, the premier should rid the province of at least some of those disgusting, overcrowded, four-person wards that became death-traps in the COVID-19 pandemic. 

That change alone represents welcome, if overdue, progress. Indeed, the Ontario Long Term Care Association, which represents 70 per cent of the province’s 630 long-term-care facilities, applauded the changes Ford’s making.

But there’s less in the government’s new funding formula than meets the eye. If the goal is rebuilding an entire long-term-care edifice, Ontario’s stuck at the stage of digging the new foundation.

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the serious, even shameful, deficiencies in a vital part of Ontario’s public health-care system. The province’s nursing homes have witnessed the deaths of 1,730 elderly residents and eight workers since the outbreak began in March. That’s almost two-thirds of Ontario’s officially reported COVID-19 fatalities.

May 27, 2020

The fact that the Canadian military had to be ordered in to save seven nursing homes that were overrun by the disease proved beyond any doubt that this province had turned a blind eye to grave systemic failings. The abuse, neglect, bug infestations, bleeding infections and the residents crying for help for hours that the army discovered should have no place in this affluent, supposedly caring country. 

Correcting that, along with improving homes that if not as bad are beneath basic, acceptable standards, is a monumental challenge. What Ford did this week was simply provide new details about a previously announced $1.75-billion infusion into long-term-care facilities. 

When that money was first committed, the government promised 15,000 new beds and renovations of 15,000 existing beds over the next decade. It’s unclear if that bold commitment still stands.

April 9, 2020

Ford did say this week that his new funding changes mean 8,000 new beds and 12,000 redeveloped beds are in the works. Air conditioning and improved ventilation is on the way for many nursing homes. Safer, more comfortable facilities will benefit nursing home residents and staff alike.

Left unanswered is how Ford plans to provide the 30,000 beds he originally pledged for the coming years. That’s a nagging question that will not go away. There are 36,000 seniors on the waiting-list for long-term care in Ontario. Ford needs to show us all his road map for moving forward.

COVID-19 Cartoons

He needs to say if his nursing home system overhaul will include providing more hands-on, daily care for residents. It should. And what about the personal support workers who provide such essential services? They receive miserable wages for a demanding job that offers minimal security. Ford needs to increase staffing levels but also the pay and working conditions for that workforce.

In addition, the Ontario government needs a detailed plan for improving the oversight of the province’s nursing homes. If Ford is content with allowing the long-term-care system to rely so heavily on private providers, he must ensure proper transparency and accountability. That could come from the independent commission Ford wants to investigate the system. But he has yet to say when that commission will begin its job.

Not every long-term-care facility does a bad job. Too many do. Ford has signalled that transforming the system is one of his highest priorities. But what he announced this week will raise red flags that suggest he’s content with superficial fixes. We need him to completely re-invent how we care for our elderly. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Posted in: Ontario Tagged: 2020-24, beds, Coronavirus, covid-19, Doug Ford, long term care, LTC, Ontario, pandemic, seniors, Summer, tour, van, Yard sale

Tuesday April 30, 2019

May 7, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday April 30, 2019

Doug Ford links Ontario floods to climate change: ‘Just rips your heart out’

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he believes climate change is among the reasons eastern Ontario homeowners are trying to save their homes from flooding for the second time in three years.

February 28, 2019

Ford was in the rural west end of Ottawa Friday morning, touring flooded areas along the Ottawa River, where officials are warning a new rain storm will make water levels rise rapidly over the next few days, likely exceeding the levels seen during a 2017 flood.

Ford says when you see the affected people face-to-face it “just rips your heart out.”

“These folks can’t go through this every single year,” he said.

He said local officials desperately need volunteers to help fill and distribute sandbags.

The Ottawa River is just one of several water bodies overflowing this week, forcing thousands of Canadians from their homes in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, where the Saint John River is experiencing a major flood for the second year in a row.

December 1, 2018

In Quebec, officials said Thursday 3,148 homes are already underwater and another 2,305 are surrounded by it, with 1,111 people out of their residences. In New Brunswick, 84 roads are closed because of flooding, including a portion of the TransCanada Highway.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency because of flooding Thursday, with another 20 mm to 50 mm of rain forecast to fall Friday and Saturday.

Residents in several small communities on the eastern and western edges of Ottawa are sandbagging to keep their homes dry, while paths along the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, including behind Parliament Hill, are underwater. About 400 soldiers have been deployed to the Ottawa area to help sandbag and assist with other flood operations. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Posted in: Canada, Ontario Tagged: 2019-16, ark, climate change, Doug Ford, environment, floods, noah, Ontario, van

Thursday February 28, 2019

March 7, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 28, 2019

Doug Ford’s van customization has $50K price tag, documents show

Customizing a van for Premier Doug Ford — with items that included a reclining leather sofa and a mini-fridge — would have cost taxpayers more than $50,000, according to a document filed in Ontario Superior Court.

December 5, 2018

An estimate for customizing the van was filed by lawyers for Ontario Provincial Police Deputy Commissioner Brad Blair as part of a lawsuit. Blair is asking the court to force the province’s ombudsman to investigate the appointment of Ford’s friend, Toronto Police Supt. Ron Taverner, to be the next OPP commissioner.

Blair has alleged that Ford’s chief of staff told the OPP to buy a “large camper-type vehicle,” have it modified to the premier’s specifications and keep the costs off the provincial books.

The document shows the van would be kitted out with a dozen specialty items, including a mini-fridge, a 32-inch television with Blu-ray player, a leather power reclining sofa bench, four swivel chairs and desks, for a total price of $50,696 (HST included).

June 27, 2018

“Please keep in mind this is only the conversion cost this is excluding the price of the van,” says the estimate dated Nov. 21, 2018, from a company called A1 Mobility.

Ford’s appointment schedule shows he personally visited the company’s Mississauga office on Nov. 5.

The estimate for van customization is attached to emails between the company, Ford’s executive assistant, Nico Fidani, and members of the OPP. Fidani is using a personal email address, not his government of Ontario address.

The documents suggest two van options were being considered: a Ford Transit or a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

“The sprinter is an overall larger van this will give us more space inside the vehicle by almost 40 [inches],” said an email from the company to Fidani.

A spokesperson for Ford denies there was any attempt to keep the cost of the van hidden from the public.

“The allegations that anyone in the premier’s office requested a van be ‘kept off the books’ are a complete fabrication by Mr. Blair, and are categorically false,” said Ford’s director of media relations, Simon Jefferies, in a statement provided to CBC News. (Source: CBC News) 

February 28, 2019

Meanwhile, February 27 was a day filled with shocking televised testimonies in both Canada and the USA, when Donald Trump’s former lawyer appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee, while in Ottawa, Justin Trudeau’s former Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould, appeared before the Commons’ Justice Committee 

 

Posted in: Ontario Tagged: 2019-08, camper, Doug Ford, Jody Wilson-Raybould, Michael Cohen, Ontario, Steve Paikin, The Agenda, TVO, van

Please note…

This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

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