News, Events & Comments

Whether they are the poorly paid and overworked staff in Long Term Care homes or poorly protected labourers in meatpacking plants like Cargill, workers are, predictably, the most victimized by the COVID pandemic. Beyond time for a new look at workplace health and safety protection.

   

Anyone who knows staff from the long term care homes now experiencing the greatest toll of COVID deaths are probably aware that these workers  are usually well-intended immigrants from cultures with extended families and respect for the eldely but with few job options in Canada, so employable at low cost for LTC for-profit operators. Since profit is the corporate motivation in many such homes reducing cots to a minimum, insluding wages, is key to eheir profitability. It comes as no surprise, then, that protective measures for patients and staff are not high priorities and if external surveillance is minimal because of laiser-faire neoliberal policies governments are complicit in the diaster, Public owneship and/or serious government stabndards and oversight are the necessary measures fo avoid more COVID-type disasters in future. TorontotheBetter calls on Torontonians to demand strong government action to take ownership of the long term care industry and provide the frail and elderly with the quality care those responsible declare to be their purpose.  

The LTC havoc in Montreal (and elsewhere) may have been missed by some but here's a sad reminder:  https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/covid-19-quebec-april-21-1.5539291