GATES: Bill 7 is an attack on the dignity of seniors and must be repealed

NIAGARA FALLS – MPP Wayne Gates, Ontario NDP Official Opposition critic for Long-Term Care (LTC), issued the following statement on the charter challenge to the Ford government’s controversial legislation, Bill 7:

“This government has a history of taking action that violates our Charter, like the unconstitutional Bill 124, which created a staffing crisis in health care, and has cost this province billions of dollars. I’m calling on the Premier and the Minister to repeal Bill 7 immediately, and to start treating our seniors with the respect and dignity they deserve.

“This is wrong. This is an attack on the dignity of seniors, the very people who built this province. These are our mothers and fathers who are being treated with complete disrespect by the Premier and the Long-term Care Minister, the fifth one in almost as many years.”

QUICK FACTS:

• Over 400 hundred seniors have been bullied by this government into long-term care homes not of their choosing, sometimes up to 150 km away from their homes and their families.
• At least five seniors have also been charged under this law for refusing to be moved without their consent – in fact, one senior from Windsor ended up with a $26,000 bill because of Bill 7.
• The number of ALC patients has gone up by 30 per cent since the law took effect.