By Zaid Noorsumar
The Ontario PC government of Premier Doug Ford has rejected the Official Opposition’s call to remove profits from the province’s home care sector.
During the standing committee meetings for Bill 175 on Monday and Tuesday, the government struck down all of the amendments proposed by the opposition parties. The NDP proposed 19 amendments to the legislation, including:
- Removal of profits from home care
- Disclosure of annual financial statements and executive compensation by home and community care providers
- Public meetings of Ontario Health (Ford’s new healthcare ‘Super Agency’ meets in secret)
- Inclusion of Bill of Rights in the legislation (as opposed to in Regulations which can be changed by the cabinet at any point)
- Recognition of the role of Indigenous communities in planning, designing and evaluating services in their communities
For-profits evade call for accountability
For-profit agencies deliver most of the publicly-funded home care in Ontario. As Rankandfile.ca has previously reported, this public money is diverted away from direct care by the profit-taking, administrative costs, and executive compensation of each agency (including non-profits).
Last week in the public hearings on Bill 175, Opposition MPP Joel Harden (NDP) asked the lobby association that mainly represents for-profit providers if they would agree to mandatory disclosure of executive pay and administrative costs.
“It was evasive,” said Harden of the response from Home Care Ontario CEO Sue VanderBent while speaking to Rankandfile.ca.
“I think if anybody takes public funding, all of what you get (and how it’s spent) needs to be disclosed to the public. There should be no debate about that. And this industry unfortunately has not been well-regulated for a long time.”
As we have previously reported, this legislation is beneficial to the for-profit providers at the expense of workers, families and caregivers. Home Care Ontario did not respond to Rankandfile.ca’s request for comment.
Links between government and industry
Based on records available through the Ontario Lobbyist Registry, Home Care Ontario’s current lobbyists include Amy Boddington and Andrew Boddington, both of whom have ties to either provincial or federal conservative parties.
Andrew Boddington was the executive director of the Ontario PC Party from 2012-2014 and Amy Boddington worked as a policy advisor in the Stephen Harper government.
Meanwhile, Shelly Jamieson is on the board of Ontario Health, the ‘Super Agency’ now running health care in the province. Jamieson was previously an executive at Extendicare, the for-profit long-term care and retirement home corporation that also owns the home care firm ParaMed.
Jamieson also served as the head of Ontario’s public service under the Liberals from 2007-2011 and a volunteer member of the Health Services Restructuring Commission under the Mike Harris government which ultimately closed 11 hospitals and 3,700 hospital beds.
Based on records obtained from Elections Ontario and the National Post’s political donations database, the private home care lobby donated $236,928 to political parties from 2010-2016. Since then, corporate donations have been banned.
Home Care Ontario alone donated $134,520 of which $78,294 went to the Liberal party, $54,525 to the Progressive Conservatives and $1,701 to the NDP.
“Well-heeled lobbyists” have the government’s ear
Natalie Mehra, the executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, says that “well-heeled lobbyists” have an oversized influence on government policy compared to families and advocacy groups.
The Health Coalition represents about half a million Ontarians through 400 member organizations including unions, seniors’ groups and patients’ organizations. However, Mehra says that government officials won’t meet with them.
“There’s no Minister of Health that should be refusing to meet with a group that represents more than half a million Ontarians,” she says.
“Just being able to get in and talk to governments is very difficult whereas very well- heeled lobbyists are in all the time whenever they want to be,” Mehra says. “But family groups who are much smaller than ours who have very few resources have almost no ability to impact policies.”
Take Action
The Ontario Health Coalition is organizing a Day of Protest against Bill 175 and the Ford government’s failure to address problems in long-term care on Wednesday, June 24.
With files by Alice Chen
This makes me sick. I was just saying not to long ago maybe Doug Ford has changed and is going to work for the people but then he turns around and does this. Goes back to his Conservative ways and pisses all over the people to help out for profit companies and the one percent. Makes me sick and am Very disappointed. I was starting to believe that there was somebody in the conservative party that might want to help people.
After the slaughter of seniors as a result of some of Doug Ford’s policies the sheer audacity of seeking to put seniors at even great risks for the profit of a few is a crime. What is wrong with the political parties elected by the people and when did they completely sell out to the wealthy lobbyists ?
I am very disappointed in Health Minister Elliot and her government for listening to lobbyists over Health Coalition groups. This is not surprising, however it is alarming at this point in time, as the high number of unnecessary deaths in seniors homes cries out for change. One would hope lives and safety would take precedent for a government who Ford said is for the people. His words are just hot air. We must keep the pressure on this government as this lack of accountability and secrecy is not acceptable.
Doug fords government is 100% liable for all of the longterm home death and he himself should be crimanaly charged with criminal negligence causing death…he took responsibility of our province and like he has proven hes a man for profit and big business…he made himself look like a hero after the pandemic hit…supposively taking charge like a leader should,but many many many people easily forgot his cuts to health,education and social programs…he directly helped create all these problems leading to death’s all over the province…he was power drunk and went for a drive and hit a bunch of people killing them behind the wheel of his cutting and slashing vehicle…he needs to be held acountable !!!
Shame on The Conservative Government and Doug Ford. There should be no profit in Heath care in Canada. Profit is what led to the many seniors dying in what was suppose to be a safe and caring place. No nurse or PSW should have died for lack of PPE or have to fear using extra diapers because someone needs their profit.No senior should have their entire life savings in a for profit home used for their care and then dumped into a system where their are no beds. I will never vote for Doug Ford or the Conservative Government ever. You had a chance to change a much needed wrong and you were for profit cowards. 80% of the deaths in Ontario from Covid-19 were real live loved ones, life time contributing citizens of Canada . All the political parties in Canada should hang their heads in shame.The Conservatives and Doug Ford had a chance to right this disgrace and you cowards did not.
Private for profit homes are where most of the bodies came
From .we need more puplicly funded home
I am shocked & angry that the government is still willing to give the For Profit Companies free rein with the long term care for our seniors!!! After all the this pandemic has revealed about what a flawed, uncaring system of care we have for our seniors, this is inexcusable and unbelievable! Shame on you!!
Re executive compensation: just need to know their names, if they’re paid through government sources, shouldn’t it all come through onto the yearly Sunshine List?
Any tax money which subsidizes private enterprise should be completely transparent. Every penny should be accounted for. Anything less can hide misuse and abuse of tax money. Tax money should not be used to ensure profits for health care ventures. The first priority for its use should be for the services provided.
You are right. The LTC private companies already control the entire activity of the govern agencies (i.e.LHIN) activity for this area.
Their control is from the admission list to the final day of the old residents leaving in their private facilities.
I learn recently that the private companies has the right to chose the patients from the waiting list based on their own interest, and the waiting list and crisis list are used for their interest of choosing patients with less financial effort for them.
Practically, they have all the rights to choose the patient, the admission time, and to refuse anyone on the waiting list based on their interest.
The poor old patients do not have any rights, not even to be informed about their admission status, progress on the waiting list, or anything you may want to consider. Everything is under a complete secret and nothing is transparent inside of the govern agencies.
There is also no correspondence via classic mail or email from agencies, so you cannot trace or prove anything. They conduct everything via phone, so they cannot be accounted for their actions or statements.
All the govern agencies supposing to protect the old people are in realty tools for LTC private companies using them at their own discretion.
The complicity of the govern was clearly revealed by Covid-19 crisis showing the realty of what is going inside of the LTC facilities.
What Ford recently did, was just acting to try to save himself from this swamp in front of Ontario residents.
There are no words about the govern suspensions of annual inspections, or all the other measures required to control the activity of private LTC companies.
The solution is classical: just follow the money……but it appears that there is no one outside of the corrupted circle in order to take action…
These companies own the government. Mike Harris started privatization, and is the chair of the Board of Directors for Chartwell ($237,000 per year, income for a part time job). Harris has $7 million in Chartwell holdings. Bill Davis is on the Board of another private long term care company.
Ford’s campaign people are trying to get him set up with a company as well for his retirement years. Why would he bite the hand that will feed him during all his post government years? This is his trough, and he will belly up to it, while elderly people who worked harder than he ever has, have died in desperate circumstances.
Take a look at this article, published by the Council of Canadians.
https://canadians.org/analysis/mike-harris-raking-profits-long-term-care-system-he-helped-create
Here is another article describing the revolving door between Ontario PCs and the private long term care companies. Ford was putting on a performance after the military report. What could he say on camera? “I don’t care – I’m going ahead with my plans to privatize.” That would be honest, but it would cause a huge backlash and uproar. This government is owned – lock, stock, and barrel.
https://www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca/index.php/the-revolving-door-between-ontarios-pcs-and-the-for-profit-seniors-care-industry-worst-hit-by-coronavirus/