Policy briefing: Ontario’s new health care plan could see hospital patients awaiting long-term care moved outside their home communities

Hello,

The Ontario government has unveiled a new plan to free up hospital beds, which could involve moving some elderly patients awaiting long-term care to facilities outside their communities.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones and Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra made the announcement Thursday. Ontario and other provincial governments face growing pressure to act as health sector officials warn of a system in crisis, with some emergency rooms enacting temporary closures as hospitals struggle. struggling to maintain physician and nursing staffing levels.

Globe and Mail Queen’s Park reporters Dustin Cook and Jeff Gray report on the announcement here and will update their coverage throughout the day.

Ontario ministers said the changes will require new legislation and free up 250 hospital beds in the first six months. Ministers said the plan, which also includes increasing the number of surgeries performed at existing private clinics, will result in 6,000 additional healthcare workers and 2,500 additional hospital beds in the province.

Opposition NDP health critic France Gélinas warned that moving more people from hospitals to long-term care homes that are not their first choice would force vulnerable elderly patients to accept beds in older, privately run facilities without air conditioning and far from their families.

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NEWS OF THE DAY

LISA LAFLAMME ‘GOING GREY’ INTERVIEWED BY CTV EXECUTIVE – The Globe and Mail’s Robyn Doolittle reports that shortly after Michael Melling became chief of CTV News, he raised questions about host Lisa LaFlamme’s hair.

According to a senior CTV official who was present at the meeting, Mr Melling asked who approved of the decision to ‘let Lisa’s hair turn grey’. The issue of Ms. LaFlamme’s hair color came up on set one day, when he noticed her taking on a purple hue in the studio lighting.

CANADA SENDS $450 MILLION LOAN TO UKRAINE: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced on Wednesday that Canada has disbursed $450 million in loans to Ukraine to support the purchase of heating oil necessary before winter. The amount is part of the $1.95 billion loan Canada has pledged to provide to Ukraine to support Kyiv during the Russian invasion. Reuters article here.

SUPREME COURT REFUSED TO HEAR DISPUTE OVER BILLION-DOLLAR VANCOUVER WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT – The Supreme Court of Canada has declined to hear an appeal from property developer Concord Pacific Acquisitions, ending a long-running legal dispute date regarding the billion-dollar development of one of Vancouver’s last waterfront parcels.

The row began in 2015 when Concord argued that Singapore-based billionaire Oei Hong Leong and his company, Canadian Metropolitan Properties, walked away from an agreement to jointly develop the former Expo ’86 Plaza of Nations site. Canadian Press article here.

THE RACE FOR CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP

Pierre Poilievre continues to show visible signs of momentum ahead of the Sept. 6 deadline for party members to vote for the party’s next leader.

The MP for Carleton spent the first part of the week touring southwestern Ontario, generating crowds and local media coverage. The Windsor Star reported on their stoppage on Tuesday in Essex County, where Mr Poilievre promised to scrap the ArriveCan app and all border warrants. SarniaNewsToday.ca reported that about 150 people attended election night in Sarnia on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr. Poilievre is in Montreal on Thursday before spending the weekend touring Atlantic Canada.

Jean Charest attended an event in Quebec City on Thursday with MP Gérard Deltell. In a statement on Twitter, Charest said he will sweep Quebec and win the party leadership race.

Former Tory ministers Lawrence Cannon and Peter Kent, as well as John Reynolds, who previously held various leadership positions within the party, published a column this week in support of Mr. Charest. They highlighted a recent Ipsos survey which revealed that Canadians are more supportive of Mr. Charest, while Mr. Poilievre is most popular among self-proclaimed Conservative Party voters.

Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis said this week she sat down for a nearly three-hour interview with author and podcaster Jordan Peterson.

The Sault Star reported that Roman Baber visited Sault Ste. Mary on Sunday. Candidate Scott Aitchison didn’t get much media attention as he was one of three – along with Mr. Baber and Mr. Charest – to attend the party’s third and final leadership debate earlier this month -this.

The results of the preferential ballot leadership vote are expected to be announced on September 10.

THIS AND THAT

The House of Commons no longer sits until September 19. The Senate is due to resume on September 20.

THE DECIBEL

A study from the University of Copenhagen, which examined billions of records extracted from sleep-tracking bracelets in 68 countries, suggests that people already lose 44 hours of sleep a year to hot nights.

And with record high temperatures occurring more frequently due to climate change, Minor Kelton, lead author of the study, tells us about the extent of the problem, who is most affected by it, and why it’s so important for people to get a good night’s sleep. Links to this episode and other podcast episodes can be found here.

PRIME MINISTER’S DAY

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is visiting the small town of New Richmond, on the south coast of Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula. His itinerary lists three photo ops, including at a local farm and two industrial facilities.

OPINION

Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail) writes that The profession of journalism is ruthless. Lisa LaFlamme is just the latest victim: “Print journalists are plagued with the idea that they are only as good or relevant as their latest signing, and TV journalists are plagued with understanding that their looks or voice could disqualify them from a job if a network decides to pursue a new image.The paradox of working in contemporary media is that journalists want to be successful enough to demand a certain salary, but that salary can make some a target if and when the company’s bean counters decide the organization needs to cut spending No one is truly immune to the cruelty of the journalism industry, and the sudden departure of Lisa LaFlamme – one of Canada’s most recognized, respected and respected journalists – is proof of that.

John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) asks why Ottawa is focusing on dental care and why premiers are cutting taxes at a time when Canada’s basic health care system is collapsing: “This Liberal government needs to put in place a national dental program before the end of the year under its confidence and supply agreement with the NDP. But how can we expand the public health system when the existing system is collapsing?

This issue is critical to your well-being, which is why now is the time for a once-in-a-generation agreement between the federal and provincial governments on rescuing and restoring health care.

Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) says that official bilingualism is officially dead in Canada: “Statistics Canada has certainly not Release linguistic data from the 2021 Census to coincide with the launch of an election campaign in Quebec. But his publication of findings confirming the decline of French in the province and across Canada is sure to light a fuse on the election campaign as Premier François Legault calls on Ottawa to cede more powers to Quebec.

Adam Vaughan, former Liberal MP and Toronto City Councilor writes in the Globe and Mail that strong mayoral powers will actually weaken the city councils of Toronto and Ottawa: “The problem isn’t power, it’s money. Toronto Mayor John Tory, for example, has yet to lose an official council vote, and yet he apparently still needs more political clout. Mayors already have all sorts of powers at their disposal – some codified, some invisible and some personal – and in Toronto, they pretty much get what they want from council. What can’t they get? New sources of funding. The property tax base on which cities rely is inelastic. User fees are limited in scope and other local fees are woefully low. Without new taxing powers, cities simply cannot solve the problems facing residents. Instead, what Queen’s Park offers is a series of solutions in search of a problem.

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