The Ford government has denied a request from the province’s COVID-19 long-term care commission to extend the deadline for their final report into the province’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis in long-term care homes.
In a recently released letter to Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton, members of the three-person commission asked that the deadline for the final report be pushed to Dec. 31, 2021, eight months later than the original April 30 date set out in the Terms of Reference.
In the letter, the group said that the investigation has included over 70 meetings with government representatives, stakeholders, and experts, resulting in close to 6,000 pages of public transcripts.
They noted that as the second wave of the pandemic rages on, the commission continues to gather new information and “valuable insights” into the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities.
“Notwithstanding the work to date, the commission continues to encounter significant delays in obtaining government information central to the Commission’s investigation. Most documents responsive to the Commission’s document summonses and requests remain outstanding,” the letter read.
“To meet its obligation to address the questions outlined in the Terms of Reference, the commission will require additional information about the measures taken to prevent, isolate and contain the spread of COVID-19 in the province’s long-term care homes before and through the second wave.”
In a letter responding to the request, Fullerton rejected the deadline extension, citing the need for an “expedited process.”
“Our main goal was to establish an independent but agile review process to make timely recommendations that could both support the government’s ongoing work managing COVID-19 and preventing the spread of disease in those homes, as well as informing the Government’s priority focus on addressing long standing challenges in the sector,” the letter from Fullerton read.
“The urgency of our situation has not changed. In fact, as Ontario deals with this next wave of COVID-19 throughout the province, the duration of which is unknown, the need for timely and focused advice is even more acute.”
The commission has already released two interim reports that included recommendations to help the province curb the spread of the virus in long-term care homes.
In the second report, which was released early last month, recommendations to the province included conducting more proactive inspections of long-term care homes and following up with harsher enforcement measures when homes fail to address the issues.
“I appreciate the independence of the Commission in deciding how best to fulfill its Terms of Reference. At the same time, we would respectfully request that you consider prioritizing recommendations that would best support government decisions you believe are needed now,” Fullerton’s letter read.
“If you are of the view that there are matters that fall within your terms of reference that warrant further examination by government beyond April 30, 2021, I invite you to highlight those matters in your recommendations.”
To date, nearly 3,000 residents of long-term care homes in the province have died after contracting COVID-19 and on Monday, a record 219 active outbreaks were reported in Ontario long-term care facilities.
During the first wave of the pandemic, members of the military were called in to assist in operating some of the province’s hardest hit homes.
In transcripts from testimony given to the commission, Major Karoline Martin identified many disturbing issues military personnel discovered when they were first deployed to the homes, including staffing shortages, as well as supply management and communication issues.
A report by the Canadian Armed Forces released back in the spring depicted shocking conditions at some long-term care homes in the province, revealing poor infection control procedures and patient neglect.
In a statement released on Monday afternoon, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath accused the Ford government of trying to "cover-up the disaster."
"Doug Ford and Minister Merrilee Fullerton have refused to provide information to the Long-Term Care Commission, and now they’re trying to shut down their work entirely. What are they hiding," the statement read.
"Doug Ford prioritized saving a buck over saving the lives of thousands of seniors. He is protecting the for-profit interests who make millions from this broken system at the expense of protecting seniors."
She added that the commission should "without question" be given all the time needed to complete the report.
"The commission has already provided interim reports, and they should be required to provide another interim report by the April deadline," she said.
"They need to be given the time and access to every piece of evidence they need, so we can learn from this disaster, change the system, and never put our loved ones at risk like this again.”
