March 26, 2025

TO: Honourable Raymond Cho, Ontario Minister for Seniors and Accessibility

Dear Minister Cho:

Congratulations on your recent reappointment as Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. Care Watch is a voluntary, non-profit, and non-partisan organization led by older adults. We advocate for accessible, quality, home care and community services that enable older Ontarians to age safely in place in their own communities.

We believe it is critically important that the Support for Seniors and Caregivers Act be included in the government’s legislative plans for the upcoming session of the Ontario Legislature. We therefore urge you to reintroduce it. This legislation contains major improvements to: (a) dementia care; (b) supports for older adults, families, and caregivers; and (c) protections against the abuse and neglect of older adults in continuing care facilities.

We also urge you to strengthen home and community services in Ontario by addressing our previous recommendations to: (a) improve access to home care by making it more flexible; (b) address the shortage of personal support workers by improving the wages and working conditions of those who work in the community; (c) establish provincial standards for home care services; (d) prioritize nonprofit providers in awarding new home care contracts; and (e) institute a caregiver benefit for unpaid caregivers.

A copy of our earlier submission about the Support for Seniors and Caregivers Act is attached.

Yours truly,

John Bagnall and Fiona Green, Co-Chairs, Board of Directors