Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his government’s independent commission into the province’s long-term care system has been moved up to begin in July from September, and will allow investigators to question any Tory members.
“Absolutely I’d appear (as a witness) and they have the full authority to investigate our government,” he said. “We want this to happen.”
A day after the scathing Canadian Armed Forces report into the five long-term care homes military members are currently in, Ford also announced that the government was taking over control of four of them.
They include Eatonville Care in Etobicoke, Hawthorne Place in North York, Altamount Care in Scarborough and Orchard Villa in Pickering.
Camilla Care in Mississauga will also be managed by the government, following two other homes that were previously taken over.
Six teams of two inspectors are being deployed to the homes for two weeks, with one of the two there at all times, conducting interviews and reviewing charts and records.
13 other homes will also inspected over the next two weeks, with random inspections happening as well, Ford said.
“What we saw yesterday is the worst of the worst,” he said, adding most homes in Ontario are operating appropriately.
Ford said the government is fully prepared to shut down facilities if necessary, and will move residents to other homes or hospitals if necessary.
When asked if he would revoke the licences of the homes in the report, he said he wanted his inspectors to see if they had fixed their problems.
“I really want them to have their corrective actions in place and be a good operator, I don’t think it’s too hard,” he said.
As for why the public should have confidence in the government's plan, Ford said “the game has changed” because of the pandemic, with the military, public health officials, hospitals and the government having a more hands-on role.
Despite calls for Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton to resign, Ford he would not remove her from her post.
“I stand behind my minister 100 per cent,” he said of Fullerton, who has been in the role since June 2019.
The report into the homes revealed residents being ignored for hours, cockroaches roaming the premises, improper feeding leading to choking and positive COVID-19 patients wandering the halls, among its findings.
BREAKING: CAF report in 5 Ontario LTC homes released, just some of the findings listed here:
— Lucas Meyer (@meyer_lucas) May 26, 2020
-cockroaches
-residents left in diapers
-residents crying for 30 to 2+hours without assistance
-leaving food in a patient's mouth while sleeping #onpoli #cdnpoli #covid19 pic.twitter.com/04TMLydyaU