Liberals pledge $9 billion for long-term care

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said today that a re-elected Liberal government would spend $9 billion to address the dangerous shortfalls in Canada's long-term care sector that were exposed by the pandemic.

"As we learn the difficult lessons of this pandemic, we must make sure tragedies like this never happen again," Trudeau told a news conference in Victoria, B.C.

A $9 billion investment would be a significant increase on the government's long-term care commitment in the 2021 budget, which called for new spending of $3 billion over five years, starting in 2022-23.

The Liberals say the increased investment would be used to improve the quality and availability of long-term care beds.

Long-term care residents accounted for around 80 per centof all reported COVID-19 deaths during the first wave of the pandemic, andcontinued to account fora disproportionate share of deaths until vaccines were made widely available.

WATCH| Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau on his plans for long-term care

Trudeau says the Liberal party would invest $9 billion in Canada's long-term care sector

3 years ago

Duration 2:37

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau also proposed raising the minimum wage for personal support workers to at least $25 as part of his party's long-term care platform.

The Liberal plan also calls for the creation of a new Safe Long-Term Care Act, which would set national standards of care in a sector that is at the momentgovernedalmost entirely by the provinces and territories.

Trudeau said a Liberal government alsowould push for a new $25 per hour minimum wage for personal support workers although achieving that new standard would also require cooperation from the provinces and territories.

Trudeau said his government wants to securehigher wages for those workers through investments and partnerships with provincial and territorial governments.

An early response from Bloc QubcoisLeader Yves-Franois Blanchetsuggests that efforts to developthose partnerships, at least withQuebec, will be met with some resistance.

"I don't want to hear it. It's not his business," Blanchet said in French at a news conference shortly after Trudeau's ended.He accused the Liberal leader of meddling in an area outside of the federal government's jurisdiction.

"If Mr. Trudeau decides to put money into long-term care ... write your cheque, send the cheque to Quebec and that's it," he added.

WATCH |Bloc QubcoisLeader Yves-Franois Blanchetresponds to the Liberals' long-term care plan

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves Francois Blanchet criticizes Trudeau after Liberal leader announces new money for long-term care

3 years ago

Duration 2:29

Responding to a question about long-term care homes, Blanchet said he would not use the loss of loved ones to make a 'political statement'

Liberals want to train 50,000 new PSWs

The promised additionalspending would also be used to train up to 50,000 new personal support workers

"To the personal support workers who have been on the frontlines of this pandemic, truly you are our heroes," Trudeau said.

The Liberals say they would also double the Home Accessibility Tax Credit from $10,000 to $20,000. That credit can be used for renovations that help seniors stay in their homes longer.

A report published earlier this month by the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that long-term care improvements would cost taxpayers $13.7 billion.

"Canada's Conservatives understand the struggles that seniors had during this pandemic. That's why Erin O'Toole will introduce a new law on failing to provide the necessities of life, invest $3 billion in infrastructure funding to renovate long-term care homes, and increase the number of personal support workers in Canada," wrote Conservative spokesperson Mathew Clancy in an email.

The Conservative election platform also calls for more partnerships with privatenon-profit operators.

The NDPhas proposed a starkly different approach in their platform, which calls for theend of privatized long-term care and the creation of a public long-term care system.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called the Liberals' plans to address long-term care "troubling,"in part becauseTrudeau voted against Singh's opposition motion to end for-profit operations inlong-term care in March.

"We know that profit and long-term care directly resulted in some of the horrific conditions we saw our loved ones and seniors were dealing with," Singh said today.

The Green Party has not yet released its election platformbut the partyearlier this year called for numerous changes, including the introduction of national standards of care, the removal of profit from the systemand higher pay for workers.