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Download PDF version of MP Challenge outline and template email
The non-partisan Make Revera Public campaign urges all political leaders, and especially incumbent federal MPs and candidates, to join the growing movement to “Make Revera Public”, and to support the phasing out of all for-profit long-term care (LTC). The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated, for once and for all, that LTC is health care and does not belong in the private, for-profit sector. Over 15,000 LTC residents have died of the virus, and many thousands more have been left sick, dehydrated, malnourished and abandoned by facility managers that have prioritized their owners’ profits over the health and security of residents, front-line staff, and family members. In Revera LTC facilities alone over 700 residents have died of Covid-19, a figure that does not even count those who have died of other causes due to profit-driven under-staffing and mismanagement.
A large and growing number of policy and practitioner experts, including Doctors for LTC Justice and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, have argued that for-profit LTC is a proven failure that should be phased out of the system as soon as possible. According to a recent Angus Reid Institute opinion poll, 75% of respondents support the idea of making LTC “a fully integrated part of the public health system, which would be taxpayer funded and accessible to all”. Fully 60% of Canadians believe we should be “phasing out private companies operating LTC homes”. Among seniors, this level of support rises to 70%.
In this context, the federal government’s ownership of for-profit Revera LTC homes, held through Revera’s parent crown corporation, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB), has to change. The PSPIB is mandated to invest the assets of several federal government pension funds, and it has owned Revera since 2006. The LTC homes currently owned and operated by Revera and PSPIB should be transferred to public and not-for-profit ownership as soon as practically possible, as proposed by 15 trade unions representing over 98% of the members of the client pension plans of PSPIB. The group of unions endorsing this call includes the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), and the Canadian Association of Public Employees (CAPE).
The federal election campaign offers a terrific opportunity to press forward this proposal in a way that welcomes participation from across the country. We urge all supporters of the Make Revera Public campaign to submit the questions provided below to their incumbent MPs and to all candidates for the 2021 federal election. It will be important to follow up with them directly until either a response is received, or we can publicly report their failure to respond. Ottawa-based Make Revera Public campaigners (contact information below) will compile, verify, and publish the results of this questionnaire, and enable voters to see which representatives and candidates are supporting this call for system transformation.
Participate in the MP Challenge in Three Easy Steps!
Step 1
Find the email address for your local MP and any candidates in your riding. A complete list of incumbent MP email addresses is compiled here: List of Canadian MP email addresses.
Before proceeding, check this list to see if your MP or candidate has already answered or indicated their position on the issue. To find the email address or contact information for candidates beyond incumbent MPs seeking re-election, try calling or emailing local party representatives for your area and requesting it.
Step 2
Using your email address (or other other contact information), prepare and send a copy of the template email/letter text posted below or available for download here or your own customized version that includes these same two questions, to your MP or federal election candidate(s):
Question 1: Do you support the proposal to transfer ownership of Revera’s LTC homes into public hands?
Read the proposal to Make Revera Public
Question 2: Do you agree that for-profit ownership of LTC facilities should be phased out as soon as possible, and that LTC should be publicly owned and administered?
These two questions can also be sent by postal mail or posed directly by phone, in a meeting, or at an all-candidates forum or debate. In the latter case, notes of any answers – ideally with direct quotations – can be taken down in writing.
Step 3
Forward all responses, whether received as emails, written correspondence, or notes taken from phone calls or meetings, to Make Revera Public campaign organizers at: [email protected]
Please include any information that confirms the authenticity of the response, and clear indications of the names, party affiliations, and riding names for any of the respondents. The Make Revera Public campaign team will aim to verify and post each response as quickly as possible. The results of this questionnaire will be updated regularly and published as a share-able document.
The document will be viewable here: List of responses
Note: Follow up emails and phone calls may be necessary, as some candidates who do not want to answer “yes” to these questions may be inclined to ignore them. That’s okay – keep in mind that every email, voicemail message, or note will add to the pressure the campaign needs to gain new commitments. In the event that your MP or candidate still does not respond, please send that information to the same email address for responses ([email protected]). We will include “Did not respond” where appropriate. Regular updates to the Make Revera Public MP Challenge listing document will be posted to the Facebook pages of the two Ottawa based campaign groups as follows:
Ottawa Committee for Pension Security
Ottawa Health Coalition
Finally, don’t hesitate to share any interesting responses from MPs and candidates on your social media! Use the hashtag #MakeReveraPublic, and please keep messages polite and constructive. You can also let others know about this project by sending them this link.
Contact the campaign group by email: makereverapublic@ottawahealthcoalition
Make Revera Public template email/letter to MPs and federal election candidates
[Date]
Dear [INSERT FULL NAME OF MP OR CANDIDATE]
I write today as a concerned resident and voter who is deeply concerned about the state of Canada’s long-term care (LTC) system. As I am sure you know, the Covid-19 pandemic has shown us that LTC is health care and does not belong in the private, for-profit sector. Thousands of LTC residents have died, and many thousands more have been left sick, dehydrated, malnourished and abandoned by facility managers that have prioritized their owners’ profits over the health and security of residents, front-line staff, and family members.
In this context, I am very concerned that the Government of Canada owns the second largest for-profit chain of LTC facilities in the country, known as Revera. In Revera LTC facilities alone over 700 residents have died of Covid-19, a figure that does not even count those who have died of other causes due to profit-driven under-staffing and mismanagement.
Many expert analysts, including Doctors for LTC Justice and the research group at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, have argued that for-profit LTC is a failed model and should be phased out of the system as soon as possible. According to a recent Angus Reid Institute opinion poll, 75% of respondents support the idea of making LTC “a fully integrated part of the public health system, which would be taxpayer funded and accessible to all”. Fully 60% of Canadians believe we should be “phasing out private companies operating LTC homes”. Among seniors, this level of support rises to 70%.
The LTC homes currently owned and operated by Revera and PSPIB should be transferred to public and not-for-profit ownership as soon as practically possible, as proposed by 15 trade unions representing over 98% of the members of the client pension plans of PSPIB. The group of unions endorsing this call includes the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), and the Canadian Association of Public Employees (CAPE). (A brief outline of that proposal was published in an open letter in April, and is available here: http://psacunion.ca/14-unions-join-call-move-revera-long-term-care)
I strongly support these calls, and I think it is important to find out where the candidates for this federal election stand on this issue. Therefore, I would ask that you answer the following two questions:
Question 1: Do you support the proposal to transfer ownership of Revera Inc’s LTC homes into public hands?
Question 2: Do you agree that for-profit ownership of LTC facilities should be phased out as soon as possible, and that LTC should be publicly owned and administered?
Please send me your answers to these questions, and any additional comments you may have on these issues, as soon as possible. To be clear, I will be sharing your response with organizers with the Make Revera Public campaign, as well as with my friends, family, and neighbours. You can email me your response at: [INSERT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, OR POSTAL ADDRESS, HERE]
Sincerely,
[INSERT YOUR NAME HERE, WITH YOUR RIDING NAME IF APPLICABLE]
cc: Make Revera Public Campaign, [email protected]
