Horwath moves to add 2,000 care beds to Oshawa, Whitby, Scarborough

NDP motion to be put to a vote Monday

Official Opposition leader Andrea Horwath will table a motion Monday to add 2,000 long-term care beds to Scarborough, Whitby and Oshawa — one of the first steps needed to tackle the 32,000-person wait list.

Horwath made that announcement in Oshawa at the home of the Mills family, where Steve and Annette Mills have been caring for Steve's father, 91-year old Walter Mills. Walter, who has severe dementia, has been on a wait list for long-term care for three years, while his son and daughter-in-law work around the clock to try to keep Walter safe and healthy.

"Walter, and thousands of seniors like him, are waiting for the safe, dignified care they need and deserve," said Horwath. "And that means thousands of families like Steve and Annette's don’t sleep through the night because their loved ones with dementia wander. They don’t have a moment of peace during the day because their loved ones have such intense needs. And they struggle to see light at the end of the tunnel because there are still hundreds or even thousands of people in front of them on the waiting lists.

“We have to do better. When our parents and grandparents need safe, quality long-term care, they deserve a space in a home that can care for them, not a spot on a mile-long wait list.”

The previous Liberal government let Ontario down by allowing the waits to grow out of control.

Now, Doug Ford is taking the problem for seniors from bad to worse, promising only a fraction of the beds required to meet the growing need, and warning of deep cuts across the board, which would force long-term care homes to do even more with even less.

Horwath, who was joined Monday by Oshawa MPP Jennifer French, has also been pushing for the province to hold a find-and-fix public inquiry into the state of long-term care in Ontario.

The Central East LHIN — covering Whitby, Oshawa and Scarborough — has the longest wait lists in the province. Horwath said her motion is only a start. She has pegged 15,000 more long-term care beds over five years, rising to 40,000 by 2028, as an achievable plan to end the long waits and get seniors the care they need.

Horwath’s motion to add 2,000 spaces in Scarborough, Whitby and Oshawa will be debated and voted on at Queen’s Park on Monday afternoon.