(Ottawa) Experts warn the Liberal promise to adopt national standards for long-term care will likely need to be matched with additional funding.
In the 2020 Speech from the Throne, Justin Trudeau’s government pledged to work with provinces and territories to set new national standards for long-term care – a process started in March by the Health Standards Organization and the Canadian Standards Association.
The Liberal government admits that long-term care is a provincial and territorial jurisdiction, but it promises to do “everything in its power to support seniors, in collaboration with the provinces and territories”. This announcement made the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, jump.
In fact, the Health Standards Organization already has national standards for long-term care. They are used as accreditation criteria for about 58% of all homes in Canada, according to Dr Samir Sinha, chair of one of the technical committees currently re-evaluating these standards.
The next step, after the publication of the new standards, will be the responsibility of the government.
The Liberals promised to legislate “guaranteed quality care” under what they called the Safe Long-Term Care Act. To that end, they have pledged $ 9 billion over five years – but Dr Sinha believes that would be insufficient.
An August 2021 report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer actually suggested that it would take an additional $ 8.5 billion, but every year, to meet the current demand for long-term care and improve wages and benefits for workers. It would then be necessary to invest 4.1% more annually, in order to follow the curve of the aging of the population.