Today, the Ontario Health Coalition submitted a complaint to the Integrity Commissioner to investigate political donations and high-level personnel links between the for-profit long-term care industry and key ministers & MPPs in the Ford Government prior to the passage of Bill 218, which indemnifies for-profit long-term care homes from liability for negligence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please find pasted below and attached the full text of our complaint to the Integrity Commissioner.
The complaint was discussed in a press conference that was held this morning, which you can view a recording of here. We have been informed that Bill 218 may be moved up and may be debated for its Third (and final) Reading this afternoon.
We have asked the Ford government to:
1. Extend the hearings so that the families of the deceased get a chance to be heard. Fifty-eight people applied for standing and only 15 were heard. PC MPPs hold a majority on Standing Committees and did not allow a second day of hearings to hear from all who applied.
2. Carve out long-term care homes and retirement homes from Bill 218. Using its majority, PC MPPs voted down amendments to that effect.
3. We are now asking MPPs with conflicts of interest to recuse themselves from the vote.
Thank you to everyone who has and continues to send letters to MPPs asking them to stop this Bill and amend it to exclude long-term care and retirement homes.
For a quick summary of the issue, RANKANDFILE.CA has published an excellent exposé of the extensive connections between the @OntarioPCParty and the for-profit LTC lobby:
