From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   Mustn't interfere with private for-profit enterprises, must we?   
   Good thing the Cons aren't around to sell off any more laboratories that could   
   be making vaccines, hmm?   
      
   Stay dead, Conservatives. And take your fat little Duffy with you.   
   _______________________________________   
   Toronto Star - Tue., Feb. 9, 2021   
      
   Erin O’Toole rejects national standards for long-term care   
      
   OTTAWA–Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is rejecting the idea of imposing   
   national standards on long-term-care homes as provinces struggle to address   
   the industry’s crisis.   
      
   O’Toole said the “Ottawa knows best” approach is the wrong one for   
   dealing with the crisis in long-term care, which dates back decades but has   
   been laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic.   
      
   “I think we have to partner with the provinces,” O’Toole told the   
   Star’s editorial board on Monday. “And so specifically in areas of   
   provincial competency and provincial jurisdiction, you can’t have a top-down   
   mandatory approach. That’s not    
   collaborative federalism.”   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   While the regulation of long-term care falls under provincial jurisdiction,   
   the COVID-19 crisis has once again raised questions about provincial   
   competency.   
      
   After the pandemic drew attention to the horrific conditions some Canadian   
   seniors were living in, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government proposed   
   a set of national standards for long-term-care homes.   
      
   The proposal stalled after it was met with strenuous opposition from some   
   premiers, particularly Quebec Premier François Legault.   
      
   “The federal government should not be involved in the management” of   
   long-term care homes, Legault’s spokesperson told the Star in December,   
   pushing instead for more health-care funding from Ottawa.   
      
   The opposition came even after the members of the Canadian Armed Forces were   
   deployed last year to assist in long-term-care homes in Ontario and Québec   
   that were ravaged by COVID-19. The CAF documented “extremely troubling”   
   conditions in Ontario    
   homes, including cockroach infestations, force-feeding and residents left to   
   sit in soiled diapers.   
      
   Last week, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced his intention to make national   
   standards for long-term-care homes an election issue.   
      
   “While we respect jurisdiction, there is no excuse for the federal   
   government not to play a leadership role,” Singh said.   
      
   “There’s no way that we can’t find a way to work together with the   
   provinces to put forward the best practices to establish how we can care for   
   seniors.”   
      
   O’Toole was repeatedly pressed on the long-term-care issue Monday, but said   
   he would push for a more “collaborative” approach with the provinces   
   instead of imposing standards.   
      
   “There are different approaches to long-term care, to home care and   
   front-line health care in each province, so Ottawa needs to allow the   
   provinces to set their priorities, and be a better and faster funding   
   partner,” O’Toole said.   
   __________________________   
      
   'Let the provinces set their own priorities', eh, O'Toole? Like they've been   
   doing up 'til now? How many thousand seniors have died because of covid?   
      
   My money is on Jagmeet Singh and Trudeau.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)