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Steph Paquette

Enact Family Caregiver Day
Adopter le Jour des aidants naturels

To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario: / À l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario:

WHEREAS “Family caregiver” is the term used for a family member, friend or person who gives care to someone, and / ALORS QUE le terme “aidant naturel” est utilisé pour désigner un membre de la famille, un-e ami-e ou une personne qui s’occupe d’une personne ayant des besoins en matière de soins, et

WHEREAS Family caregivers experience high levels of stress, depression and physical health decline, and / ALORS QUE les aidants naturels sont exposés à des niveaux élevés de stress, de dépression et de déclin de leur santé physique, et

WHEREAS 3.3 million or 29% of Ontarians are unpaid family caregivers, and / ALORS QUE 3,3 millions de personnes, soit 29 % des Ontariens et Ontariennes, sont des aidants naturels, et

WHEREAS the support Family Caregivers provide keeps frail and ill residents out of our province’s overburdened and under funded hospitals and Long Term Care homes. / ALORS QUE le soutien que les aidants naturels fournissent permet de garder les résidents et résidentes fragiles et malades hors des hôpitaux et foyers de soins de longue durée surchargés et sous-financés.

WE, the undersigned petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows: Pass MPP Gélinas’ Bill 181, Family Caregiver Day Act, 2024 and declare the first Tuesday in April to be Family Caregiver Day / NOUS soussignés pétitionnons l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario : Adopter le Projet de loi 181, Loi de 2024 sur les aidants naturels de la Députée Gélinas pour déclarer le premier mardi d’avril le Jour des aidants naturels.

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Mandatory fields are indicated with an asterisk / Les champs obligatoires sont indiqués par un astérisque

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2024 PETITION - Family Caregiver Day-Le Jour des aidants naturels *****************************************************************************

Thank you for taking the initiative to collect petition signatures! Your work raising awareness and advocating for this important issue is incredibly valuable. I encourage you to share the petition with friends, family, and members of your community.

Please note that for the petition to be presented in the legislature:
1. All signatures on the petition must contain names, addresses and original signatures.
2. Original petitions need to be sent to my Community or Queen’s Park Office. Photocopied petitions cannot be presented in the legislature.
3. Please include your name and address with the petitions you submit. We will notify you when the petitions you collected are read.

Merci de recueillir des signatures pour cette pétition! Vos efforts de sensibilisation pour faire avancer cette importante cause nous sont très précieux. Je vous invite à envoyer la pétition à vos amis, à votre famille et à vos concitoyens.

Veuillez noter que pour qu’une pétition puisse être présentée à l’Assemblée législative, elle doit :
1. comprendre le nom, l’adresse et la signature originale de chaque signataire;
2. être envoyée dans sa version originale à mon bureau de circonscription ou à celui de Queen’s Park. Les copies ne seront pas acceptées à l’Assemblée legislative;
3. comprendre vos propres nom et adresse.  Nous vous aviserons de la date à laquelle votre pétition sera lue à Queen’s Park.

Time to respect workers in LTC
Il est temps de respecter les travailleurs en soins de longue durée

June 5, 2024

Time to respect workers in LTC

QUEEN’S PARK – This morning, MPP France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) rose in the legislature to highlight that workers at the Elizabeth Centre in Val Caron have been without a collective agreement for two years.

“Mine Mill UNIFOR Local 598 members from Sudbury travelled to the headquarters of Jarlette Health Services on Monday to hold an information picket in support workers at the Elizabeth Centre in Val Caron. Why did union members from Sudbury get on a bus early in the morning to travel 3 hours to Midland speaker? Because the workers at the Elizabeth Centre have been without a collective agreement since 2022, two long years.

This is happening under this government’s watch. With so little resources at the ministry of labour, once an employer asks for arbitration it does not take days, weeks or months to get it done. It takes years!

That’s right speaker, retirees and workers on their day off, travelled down to the headquarters to “remind” management that these workers need a new contract. The Elizabeth Centre is a Long-Term Care (LTC) home that houses 128 residents in the centre of my riding. The Unifor members working there look after frail, elderly residents. They are dealing with the same cost of living challenges that every Ontarian faces. Many of them can barely afford rent never mind a car payment. They need a new collective agreement now, but here we are, two years after their last contract ended these workers are left to wait and wait and wait.

I hope the government agrees that this must stop, these workers need a new collective agreement now. Let’s show LTC workers a bit of respect, they certainly deserve it.”

More Hospital Closures
Encore plus de fermetures d’hôpitaux

May 31, 2024

First Minden, now West Grey, how many more hospitals will you close?

QUEEN’S PARK —NDP Health critic France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) questioned the Minister of Health Thursday morning about her plans to close more Ontario hospitals.

“Durham Hospital in West Grey is this government’s next Minden. On Monday, their emergency room will be closed 14 hours per day and all inpatient beds will be closed. West Grey town council had to declare a state of emergency. South Muskoka Memorial Hospital is going down the same path. And the hospitals in Chelsey, Clinton, Almonte, Arnprior, Campbellford, Hawkesbury, Listowel, Mt Forest, Palmerston, Seaforth, South Huron, Walkerton and Wingham are not far behind.

How many rural hospitals does this Minister intend to close?”

Friday May 31st is the one-year anniversary of the closure of the Minden Hospital.

Dire State of Healthcare in the Sault
État désastreux des soins de santé à Sault Ste. Marie

May 29, 2024

Premier Ford leaving Sault Ste. Marie residents high and dry

QUEEN’S PARK — Official Opposition NDP Health critic France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) questioned Minister of Health Sylvia Jones about her plans for the 10,000 residents of the Sault Ste. Marie who are losing their family doctor on Friday.

“Mike is a 76-year-old resident of Sault St Marie. Mike has diabetes, he is a two-time cancer survivor. Last year he underwent a heart procedure. Mike now needs frequent consultation with his doctor to manage his recovery and new medications. On Friday, Mike, his daughter, 2 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren and 10,000 more Sault Ste. Marie residents will lose their family Doctor. What is the Minister of Health plan to help the good people of Sault Ste. Marie?”

This week there has been a flurry of media coverage drawing attention the dire state of healthcare in this Northern Ontario community.

“Murray and Eunice Patterson were some of the first patients of the Group Health Centre back in 1964. They are now 92 and 88 years old with mobility and other health issues but on Friday, they are losing access to their Doctor. It doesn’t have to be that way. The Group Health Center has submitted solutions and alternatives to this Minister, but they did not even get a reply. 10,000 people in Sault Ste. Marie are losing access to their family Doctor on Friday and no answer, no plan, no action, nothing from this government.

How can that be?”

Public Dollars for Corporate Greed
Les fonds publics pour la cupidité des entreprises

May 27, 2024

Will you protect public dollars from corporate greed?

QUEEN’S PARK – During Monday’s Question Period, MPP France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) called out Health Minister Sylvia Jones for neglecting corporate pillaging of health system dollars.

“Since the government introduced new sources of profit to pharmacies, pharmacists at Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Mart are being directed by their corporation to preform unnecessary MedsChecks to drive corporate profits. What has your government done to ensure that corporations like Loblaw and Galen Weston are not abusing our publicly funded health system?”

In February the CBC reported corporate pressure led Shoppers Drug Mart staff to bill for unnecessary medication reviews.

“Things are so bad that the college of Pharmacists of Ontario did a survey, the results: Shopper’s and Loblaws Drug stores are the 2 workplaces where most of the pressure happens. Pharmacists are being pressured to do more: meds checks, cold call meds check, naloxone dispensing, therapeutic checks and minor ailments assessments and prescribing but do them within limited time.

All of this generates more profits but is against the position statement issued by the College and putting pharmacists’ licenses at risk.

What is the government doing to protect pharmacists’ licenses and guard the public purse? Or is the government happy Shopper’s and Loblaws are raking in more profit at the taxpayer’s expense?”

In Solidarity with Health Care Professionals
En soutien aux professionnels de la santé

May 16, 2024

Gélinas supports Health-Care Professionals

QUEEN’S PARK — Official Opposition NDP Health Critic France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) rose in the legislature to make a statement regarding the 900 health-care professionals holding a rally at Health Sciences North today.

“Today speaker my colleague, MPP West and I wish we were in our ridings so we could join the 900 health-care professionals holding a rally at Health Sciences North.

You see speaker these workers have been working without a collective agreement since June 2022, two long years ago.

Today, May 16th is the long-awaited arbitration date.

We support workers.

I know that there are shortages in about 15 classifications of health care professionals, including Respiratory Therapists, Pathologist Assistants, Lab Technicians, Radiation Therapists, Medical Radiation Technologists, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, Pharmacy Technicians, Prosthetic and Orthotic Technicians, Perfusionists and the list goes on.

These shortages cause delays in tests needed for diagnosis, delays in care and treatment plans and missed care. All of these delays lead to extended hospital stays, hospital overcrowding and hallway health care.

The top reasons why health care professionals leave their work are pay and working conditions. So, I sure hope that the arbitration brings them what negotiation was not able to bring, that is fair wages and good working conditions.

To all the health care workers and allies at the rally today, I value your important work. We wish we could be there with you and sure hope after waiting for two years that you get a good collective agreement.

Solidarity”