The Ontario Health Coalition says it’s “shocked and disappointed” following court rulings on two high-profile cases impacting elderly patients in Ontario.
The coalition, along with the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, challenged the constitutionality of Bill 7, the More Beds, Better Care Act – legislation that allows hospitals to charge patients $400 per day if they refuse to move to a long-term care home not of their choosing. The court upheld the law, calling the fees “modest” and rejecting claims the policy violated patients’ rights. Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra said the ruling fails to recognize the hardship families face.
“For families who provided affidavits to the court, the cost of $400 per day was absolutely prohibitive,” Mehra said. “It resulted in their loved ones being forced into long-term care homes that they did not want to go to.”
In a separate ruling, the court dismissed a case brought by the coalition and Cathy Parkes, whose father died at Orchard Villa in Pickering. They sought to block the Ford government from granting a 30-year licence and 88-bed expansion to the home, which had faced criticism for poor care and COVID-19 deaths.
Mehra vowed the coalition would continue fighting for better care for Ontario’s elderly residents.
(Written by: Joseph Goden)