Milton NDP Blog

On Friday we read a disturbing report by the CBC about Ontario Nursing Homes. They found 30,000 “written notices” or violations “including abuse, inadequate infection control, unsafe medication storage, inadequate hydration, and poor skin and wound care, among others.” Andrea Horwath says, “Anything less than an overhaul of our home care and long-term care system means a continuing pattern of chronic understaffing, neglect and lack of accountability as for-profit corporations cut more corners to pocket bigger profits.” “If seniors do need long-term care, it should feel like moving into a new home, not like giving up a home for an institution,” said Horwath . The NDP has a plan. It’s called Aging Ontarians Deserve the Best . If you know someone in LTC you should be writing to your MPP now. Ask the government to pass the Time To Care Act which has been stalling in the house for years.

Last Thursday the government revoked the rule that Ontario school boards hire teachers from a pool of teachers with the most seniority. The seniority rule has a complicated history. The Fair Hiring Practice was negotiated to deal with the nepotism and cronyism that was rampant in the hiring practices in school boards. The Minister of Education’s suggestion that this “rewards union seniority over merit” has more to do with his dislike for unions than actual merit. Seniority is not granted by the union. It is personal seniority, the amount of time in service. This move is simply an attack on unions and will only erode the quality of education in our schools. On Saturday the Globe and Mail reported that the TDSB is looking at several options to make up for a shortage of French teachers, including hiring French speaking individuals to make up for the shortfall. Again we note the possible erosion of our education system by eroding the rules. Poor planning by the government has led to this s...

This week we were upset to learn how the Covid 19 epidemic is affecting people with disabilities. Chris Stigas lives in assisted living in downtown Toronto and uses a wheelchair. Stigas is afraid for his safety, given that multiple PSWs come into his home throughout the day, who he knows are also working in other assisted living homes. Then there is Michael Wilson , a Kitchener man who was homebound for weeks, when his power wheelchair broke down. Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program was closed because it was not deemed an essential service. His plea for a new chair went unheard, so he crawled around his home until media reports brought action. There is also the story of Ten Morgan , a teenager who has been bed ridden for the better part of a year as she’s waited for ADP to approve a power wheelchair. Her wait was prolonged by the shutdown of ADP’s officials. The NDP is calling for a plan to include, but not be limited to: Adopting a clinical triage protocol that respects the human rig...

The CBC radio call-in show this week asked the question “Can Canada afford a high deficit in order to pay for Covid 19? The answer that struck a chord with us was “Off course” All you need to do is get Canadian Corporations and individuals to pay their back taxes and tax money kept off-shore by the wealthy. Some would argue that the NDP will spend Canada into bankruptcy. That’s just a scare tactic meant to make you believe that fiscal conservatism means lower taxes for corporations to support the false “trickle down” argument. In fact, lining the pockets of their corporate buddies is their real agenda. NDP fiscal policies will put everyday Canadians and their families first. We will protect family budgets, and force big corporations and big polluters to start paying what they owe. And we will raise revenues through new, fair, and progressive taxation sources to make the investments Canadians need to thrive.