(March 14, 2025) By: Durham Radio News<\/p>\n
The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) is expressing disappointment with the results of two key legal cases against Queen\u2019s Park and the for-profit long-term care industry.<\/p>\n
The advocacy group had been challenging the province\u2019s decision to grant a license extension for the operators of Pickering\u2019s Orchard Villa building.<\/p>\n
As well, the group tried to challenge a bill that charges certain patients $400 daily if they refuse to be sent to long-term care homes that they haven\u2019t chosen.<\/p>\n
The coalition noted Thursday that it does not have the funds to appeal either result. However, it will continue to advocate for policy changes on the provincial level.<\/p>\n
Orchard Villa<\/strong><\/p>\n The OHC was seeking a judicial review into a 30-year license extension that was granted to Southbridge Care Homes, the owner of Orchard Villa. The operators are aiming to demolish the main building and construct a new, larger facility on-site.<\/p>\n Orchard Villa was hard-hit during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020; the military would later allege that there were severe health violations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to fight for the right to compassionate and humane treatment for the elderly,\u201d said Natalie Mehra, the OHC\u2019s executive director. \u201cFor the families whose loved ones have suffered and died in Orchard Villa, we are so sorry. We share your heartbreak and frustration that there has been no justice and no accountability, and that the court dismissed this case despite the requirements of the legislation that were supposed to protect the public.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am gravely disappointed in the court\u2019s decision to dismiss our case,\u201d Cathy Parkes, daughter of Paul Parkes, a resident who died at Orchard Villa. \u201cIt was my hope that the court would review the past conduct of the Orchard Villa and determine that the granting of a 30-year licence was not warranted to a long-term care home with such a horrible track record. [\u2026] The court\u2019s statement that I do not have any future interest in expansion of Southbridge\u2019s Orchard Villa couldn\u2019t be further from the truth; the statement would imply that the families who lost their loved ones in Orchard Villa have no care about the fate of other people\u2019s lives. Bill 7 also ensures that the statement from the courts can never be true.\u201d<\/p>\n Hospital stay charges<\/strong><\/p>\n Bill 7, titled the More Beds, Better Care Act, affects patients who are classified as \u2018Alternate Level of Care.\u2019 It allows health care planners to decide how eligible a hospital patient is for long-term care, and then authorize them for admission into a temporary home without their consent. The patient could later be moved into a preferred facility once a spot opens up.<\/p>\n While the bill was making its way through the legislature, government officials argued it would free up acute care beds.<\/p>\n Patients who refuse to go into a facility that isn\u2019t of their choosing can be charged $400 per day.<\/p>\n The OHC launched a charter challenge, although the court wound up upholding the bill\u2019s constitutionality.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are shocked and disappointed by the court ruling and we are very sorry not to be able to appeal,\u201d said Mehra. \u201cThese cases are enormously costly and take a lot of resources to gather expert evidence. [\u2026] The court has told us that we don\u2019t even have the right to be in court, even though the people most affected have no other recourse or access to justice. If we lose on appeal, the court can order us pay the legal fees of the government.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor the families who provided affidavits to the court, the cost of $400 per day was absolutely prohibitive,\u201d she added. \u201cIt resulted in their loved ones being forced into long-term care homes that they did not want to go to. They described the hardship and suffering that resulted, including the increased use of drugs as a restraint, living in a room that is dark all the time, little to no programming, inadequate physiotherapy, inadequate staffing resulting in wait times of an hour-and-a-half to be toileted, and the attendant lack of dignity not to mention health care consequence of these. These are the conditions and consequences that gave rise to our decision to take this matter to court. These issues continue to impact families who are coerced under Bill 7 into long-term care homes that are too far away or that cannot provide decent and humane care.\u201d<\/p>\n