Next Ontario premier must face overlooked issues like home care and environment
TheStar.com – Opinion/Editorials – Ontario’s election has had a narrow focus on jobs and scandal, but the next premier will face a host of issues that have not been debated publicly.
Jun 09 2014. Editor
For the past six weeks our provincial political leaders have devoted their speeches to a few repetitive themes that include the c-word (corruption), bad math, middle-class pennies and promises of jobs, jobs and more jobs.
Maybe they’re focus group-obsessed politicians, or perhaps they’re just telling voters what we want to hear, but it’s fair to say that whoever inherits the premier’s office will face a lot of problems that have been almost invisible during the campaign.
While not top of mind for everyone, growing concerns about home care, dementia, aboriginal justice and even the environment (the perennial wallflower in tough economic times) are issues that matter, tremendously, to many people.
Dealing with these concerns properly can make a significant difference in the quality of our lives, while saving money and even creating jobs. Now there’s a familiar theme.
The growing pressures on home care, for example, must be urgently addressed.
While Premier Kathleen Wynne has promised a wage boost for the chronically underpaid front-line workers in the field, that’s just a start, albeit a good one.
There are still significant problems with patients who can’t get timely home care, even though they are discharged from hospitals, sicker and quicker. As result, their health deteriorates, ultimately creating even greater expense for the health care system.
The next government must also take charge of prodigious spending by the 14 Community Care Access Centres that oversee home care across the province. As the Star has previously reported, precious home care money is being squandered on soaring CEO salaries, high administration costs and even lobbyists, who tell the agencies how to sell their ideas to Queen’s Park. Surely it’s the sick who should benefit.
Dementia is another under-reported but growing problem that Ontario isn’t prepared for. In six short years, some 250,000 older Ontarians will suffer from the debilitating cognitive disease and the province still has no plan on how it will manage their care.
A dementia strategy is desperately needed, particularly for long-term care homes that give the elderly dangerous anti-psychotic drugs to keep them controlled, since dementia can lead to violence. The health ministry should look at the excellent work of a handful of homes that use slow, gentle care, which dramatically lowers dementia’s unfortunate side effect of aggression.
Aboriginal youth also need attention. As a 2013 report by former Supreme Court of Canada justice Frank Iacobucci concluded, the provincial justice system is biased against aboriginals, in part because so few are represented on the jury system. At the same time, a Star investigation found that aboriginal and black youth are treated more harshly by the courts, even for similar crimes.
And finally, environmental issues barely got a mention during this campaign.
Whether it’s new recycling rules that could divert waste from landfill — and create thousands of innovative jobs — or protections for important watersheds and endangered species, environmental regulations play a vital role.
For example, Ontario’s industrial, commercial and institutional sectors are so lackadaisical about new waste diversion rules that they divert a mere 13 per cent of their waste from landfill.
Imagine if those diversion numbers got a sharp boost from new rules. That would turn a lot of wasted material into recycled products created by those newly hired workers. It’s a winning idea, yet a Liberal bill proposing those very changes died on the order paper when the election was called.
It’s hard to predict whether any new government will give these issues the time and attention they deserve. But whether she or he wants to do it, at some point the next premier will be forced to confront them.
< http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2014/06/09/next_ontario_premier_must_face_overlooked_issues_like_home_care_and_environment_editorial.html >
Tags: budget, Health, mental Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living
This entry was posted on Monday, June 9th, 2014 at 11:33 am and is filed under Governance Debates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
285 Responses to “Next Ontario premier must face overlooked issues like home care and environment”
« Older Comments | Newer Comments »
Leave a Reply
Recent Comments
I will share you blog with my sis.
When are you going to take this to a full book?
Hi, possibly i’m being a little off topic here, but I was browsing your site and it looks stimulating. I’m writing a blog and trying to make it look neat, but everytime I touch it I mess something up. Did you design the blog yourself?
I favored your idea there, I tell you blogs are so helpful sometimes like looking into people’s private life’s and work.At times this world has too much information to grasp. Every new comment wonderful in its own right.
Good post. I study something more difficult on different blogs everyday. It’s going to always be stimulating to learn content material from other writers and observe a little bit one thing from their store. I’d prefer to use some with the content material on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link in your web blog. Thanks for sharing.
I’m partial to blogs and i actually respect your content. The article has actually peaks my interest. I am going to bookmark your site and preserve checking for new information.
I’d like to be able to write like this, but taking the time and developing articles is hard…. Takes a lot of effort.
Fantastic piece of writing here1
Great write-up, I am a big believer in placing comments on sites to inform the blog writers know that they’ve added something advantageous to the world wide web!
If most people wrote about this subject with the eloquence that you just did, I’m sure people would do much more than just read, they act. Great stuff here. Please keep it up.
Most often since i look for a blog Document realize that the vast majority of blog pages happen to be amateurish. Not so,We can honestly claim for which you writen is definitely great and then your webpage rock solid.
Oh my goodness! an amazing article. Great work.
Very Interesting Information! Thank You For Thi Information!
There is a lot of misunderstanding about these issues today. Your material helps explain things.
The post is absolutely great! Lots of great info and inspiration, both of which we all need! Also like to admire the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer! I will bookmark your website!
Developing a framework is important.
Dude.. I am not much into reading, but somehow I got to read lots of articles on your blog. Its amazing how interesting it is for me to visit you very often. –
Does it look like we’re in for a big ride here?
Its wonderful as your other blog posts : D, regards for putting up.
Nice read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing some research on that. And he just bought me lunch as I found it for him smile Therefore let me rephrase that: Thank you for lunch!