FACT CHECK: Families respond to Ford bill shielding long-term care homes from lawsuits

QUEEN’S PARK — On Wednesday, a day after tabling a bill that attempts to strip families of their right to sue the Ford government or for-profit long-term care homes, Doug Ford brushed off the concerns of families whose loved ones suffered in nursing homes during the pandemic.

• “…maybe what someone has to do rather than read the headlines per se, what they need to do it is talk to their legal advisor and get this cleared.” - Doug Ford

Now, families from Orchard Villa are reacting.

• “My family and others like us have been through a living hell in the past six months. We watched our loved ones suffer and die while our hands were tied and the only people who could help didn’t move fast enough. This tragedy will be etched in history as a time when those in power failed to protect our vulnerable citizens and this new step shows the corruption of power at its absolute worst.” - Cathy Parkes

• "This legislation will have the most obvious impact on lawsuits against long-term care and retirement homes who acted negligently and failed to take reasonable steps to protect their vulnerable residents. As a result of this legislation, it will no longer be enough for victims, and the families of those who died, to prove that the homes were negligent. They will now have to prove that the home was “grossly negligent” in order to hold them responsible for the damage they caused." - Melissa Miller, Partner, Howie Sacks and Henry LLP - lawyer for the Parkes family

• “What Ford has put in this bill, that has nothing to do with LTC, is stripping the rights of families being a voice for our loved ones who have passed in LTC. This is not how I was raised by the generation before me. I was taught to stand up for whats right and to fix the wrongs. Mr. Ford should not be allowed to get this pushed through to protect the pockets of investors in LTC. His job is to Protect the residents of LTC with clarity and accountability.” - Marie Tripp

• “I am disgusted and appalled reading it. My grandmother died alone and under deplorable conditions at Orchard Villa. We were not allowed to touch or even go close to her casket at her funeral. What sort of goodbye or closure is that? Now the government wants to protect these companies? How is it fair for families of loved ones that died or continue to live in these facilities? Where is the justice?” - Darlene Thomas

• “Lost my mother to Covid at one of the many for profit LTC facilities where military leadership felt compelled to expand their mandate to highlight the glaring errors being made. She passed mid April. I was lied to many times during the crisis. I don’t blame the people that lied. It’s rather apparent they were following orders from corporate. The so called inquiry is a sham and so is this legislation. To minister of LTC - mom was in same home during the bad flu seasons. Any attempt to compare the two sickens my heart. “ - C Howell