February 23, 2024
Support Ontarians at Home
QUEEN’S PARK – France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt rose in the legislature to speak about the challenges Ontario’s homecare clients and Personal Support Workers face.
“People in Ontario want to age at home, they do not want to move in a Long-Term Care home. We know how to support people in their own homes where they want to be. We have the knowledge and the skills; but frail, elderly Ontarians face a broken home care system. In Ontario for profit home care companies are more interested in making a profit then in providing people with the care and support that they need to stay home safely.
A Personal Support Worker was in my office a few days ago, asking how he could continue to service his clients in Dowling and Onaping – rural northern communities in my riding – after Canadian Shield cut his milage rate in half, from 52 cents to 25 cents a kilometer.
Speaker most home care workers do not get paid between clients, in my riding they may drive for 30, or 45 minutes between clients all on their own time for 25 cents a kilometer. It doesn’t matter how hard they work it is impossible to make enough money to survive. So many PSW who love their clients, who are good at what they do, have no choice but to leave the home care system in order to feed their kids and pay their rent.
Right now Paramed a for profit home care company is withholding money that the government has send to PSW working in home care in order to gain concessions from their PSW. All this is happening under this government watch, it is so wrong.
People needing home care deserve better, PSW working in home care deserve better!”