Ontario faces calls to dedicate surplus land for long-term care homes to non-profits

The Ford government is facing calls to guarantee surplus nationalist onshore earmarked for semipermanent attraction homes is dedicated to non-profits arsenic it works to boost the fig of beds successful the province.

The semipermanent attraction curate has admitted Ontario is dealing with “capacity pressures” astatine existing long-term care homes and, arsenic portion of its program to physique much beds, the state is relying connected nationalist land.

“We person identified definite lands successful our surplus bundle which we are moving done close present — immoderate projects person already been announced,” Long-Term Care Minister Natalia Kusendova-Bashta confirmed successful an interrogation with Global News.

“Certainly, we’re moving with Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Infrastructure to place different lands that perchance could beryllium utilized for societal benefits similar gathering semipermanent care.”

One of the areas — a parcel of onshore the authorities has been assembling for years successful Oakville — was sold to Schlegel Village to physique a caller semipermanent attraction project.

The institution told Global News the onshore successful Oakville was posted for merchantability by Infrastructure Ontario and met its needs to redevelop a location it presently runs successful confederate Mississauga.

“The information Infrastructure Ontario had the onshore matters not – we’d beryllium blessed getting suitable onshore successful a suitable determination from immoderate consenting seller,” the institution said successful a statement.

The Oakville tract is acceptable to make 512 semipermanent attraction beds, portion different portions of nationalist onshore successful Vaughan and Aurora are besides going to caller semipermanent attraction projects.

The move, however, is facing disapproval from immoderate due to the fact that it doesn’t look to prioritize non-profit semipermanent attraction homes implicit the large, for-profit companies.

Asked by Global News if the authorities was differentiating betwixt for-profit and not-for-profit homes, Kusendova-Bashta said, “We are looking astatine each task proponents.”

Lisa Levin, the CEO AdvantAge Ontario which represents non-profits moving successful elder care, said nationalist onshore earmarked for merchantability should beryllium fixed to non-profit and municipal homes to physique caller beds.

“I consciousness powerfully that if authorities has surplus onshore and they’re offering it to semipermanent attraction past it should spell to the not-for-profit homes due to the fact that they person a harder clip raising the backing and they don’t person the aforesaid equity, for example, arsenic a ample chain,” she said successful an interrogation with Global News.

“Many caller buildings are being built by the not-for-profit assemblage but determination are immoderate that are stalled due to the fact that they can’t find land, truthful this would marque a immense difference.”

The propulsion for caller semipermanent attraction beds comes arsenic wait-lists successful Ontario balloon.

The Ontario Long Term Care Home Association estimates wait-lists betwixt 2014 and 2024 person doubled from conscionable implicit 20,000 to astir 48,000 people. Now, fractional of those waiting for a semipermanent attraction furniture are stuck successful waiting for much than six months.

The radical calculates that Ontario needs different 30,000 caller spaces to conscionable existent demands and, by 2029, an other 48,000 spaces volition beryllium needed.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles echoed the telephone for the authorities to absorption lone its onshore connected the non-profit sector.

She said she was successful favour of utilizing surplus onshore to get affordable lodging projects, oregon semipermanent attraction projects, disconnected the crushed but that it should not beryllium fixed to backstage companies.

“But this government, they deliberation each the solutions are, for the astir part, for profit,” Stiles said. “And we’ve seen however the for-profit assemblage functioned nether the COVID pandemic.”