NPF and PIAC had filed its own Petition to Cabinet to set aside the decision, arguing the CRTC had not considered the interests of citizens and consumers, in particular seniors, in the continuing role of CBC/SRC in maintaining the Canadian broadcasting system, in particular, linear TV and radio services.
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Rife with discrimination against the elderly,” Bill 7 prompts advocates to escalate call for Human Rights Commission investigation into systemic ageism in Ontario health policy
“Rife with discrimination against the elderly,” Bill 7 prompts advocates to escalate call for Human Rights Commission investigation into systemic ageism in Ontario health policy
Toronto, ON – At a press conference held today, the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE), and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced they are escalating their call for the Ontario Human Rights Commission to launch a formal inquiry into systemic discrimination in the provision of health care in Ontario against the elderly based on age.
A public inquiry under the Human Rights Code has long been needed, however it has become even more urgent given the Ford government’s introduction of Bill 7, the More Beds, Better Care Act, 2022, which permanently suspends the right to consent for the elderly. If passed, Bill 7 will profoundly exacerbate pervasive and long-standing Ontario government health policies that discriminate based on age. In a letter to the Ontario Human Rights Commissioner, the groups renewed their call for the commission to investigate systemic discrimination based upon age against the elderly in the provision of health care in Ontario.
“Under the Ford government’s new legislation, frail, vulnerable seniors have been targeted, wiping out their human right to informed consent for health care,” said Natalie Mehra, Executive Director of the Ontario Health Coalition. “This is a fundamental question of justice. Elderly patients are not taking undue resources any more than other patients. It is the cruelty of ageism laid bare and the Ontario Human Rights Commission must finally take action.”
Under Bill 7, a patient designated Alternate Level of Care (ALC) may be moved to a long-term care (LTC) home without their consent. If they resist transfer, they may be charged a fee of hundreds or even thousands of dollars for every single day they remain in hospital.
“We previously raised grave concern about the designation of disproportionately elderly patients as ALC without sufficient and individualized attention to their particular care needs. Patients designated ALC are routinely treated as ‘bed blockers’ who do not require hospital care and are systematically denied equitable access to publicly funded health care services in this province. Older adults also need more and better alternatives to long-term care that would help keep them out of hospital and long-term care longer, if not entirely,” stated Graham Webb, Executive Director of the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly.
The OHC, ACE, and CUPE are again calling on the Ontario Human Rights Commission to use their public inquiry powers under section 31 of the Human Rights Code to investigate systemic discrimination in the provision of health care in Ontario against the elderly based on age.
“There can be no dispute that the province’s hospitals are under intense strain, and that access to health services for all Ontarians is backlogged by a critical staffing shortage. ALC patients are not, however, responsible for this crisis nor will forced transfer result in a single new staff position. Elderly ALC patients are a scapegoat to divert attention from Ontario’s decades-long policy of underfunding hospitals to levels far below population need – a trend the PCs plan to extend another 5 years. That these forced transfers involve suspension of the right to consent to care and no right to appeal is surely grounds for a human rights investigation,” added Michael Hurley, President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU)-CUPE.
Ontario now has the fewest hospital beds per capita of any province in the country and ranks third to last in number of hospital beds among all countries in the OECD. While the province has been pursuing the most extreme hospital downsizing policy in the developed world, it has also been systematically underfunding the LTC system. Ontario ranks second to last among all provinces in the number of LTC beds per capita, and currently has a wait list of over 30,000.
While the Ford government effectively blames elderly patients for ‘overstaying’ in hospital, this crisis is entirely one of the government’s own making, the advocates say. Denying elderly patients appropriate hospital care and discharging them into profoundly under-resourced facilities is not only inhumane and ineffective, but also deeply discriminatory. “The province’s Human Rights Commission has an obligation to our elderly to act. This is why we are renewing our call for an investigation,” they say.
In the spring of 2021, following thousands of vulnerable LTC resident deaths in the first and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, ACE, the OHC and OCHU-CUPE formally requested the Ontario Human Rights Commission launch an inquiry into Ontario’s systemic discrimination against the elderly in access to health care.
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Vancouver Quadra’s Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Volunteer Award presented to Barb Mikulec
Vancouver Quadra’s Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Volunteer Award presented to Barb Mikulec
For ongoing and outstanding volunteer work for the people and communities of Vancouver Quadra.
It is with great enthusiasm that I congratulate you on being a recipient of Vancouver Quadra’s Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Volunteer Award.
Thank you for giving generously of your time, talent, and commitment to support others – and benefit the entire Vancouver Quadra community.
Through your outstanding dedication to service, you make the fabric of our society richer and our nation stronger.
Warm regards
Hon. Joyce Murray, PC, MP,
Vancouver Quadra
NOTE: Platinum jubilee marks the 70th anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession to the Throne. She is Canada’s longest reigning Sovereign and the first to celebrate a platinum jubilee. The pin has seven maple leaves and seven pearls. It marks seven decades of service to Canada and embodies the idea of celebration.
We all must rise in the continued fight for National Pharmacare against all odds.
Costs have been soaring, with severe consequences for low-income people’s access to medications. Nearly a quarter of Canadians (23 per cent) tried to make a prescription last longer by splitting doses or not filling a prescription in the past year because of cost, according to a 2020 Angus Reid poll.
