A submission to government may take the form of a public letter or position statement intended to inform a decision-maker (e.g., a government minister) about Care Watch’s perspective, analysis, position, or policy respecting an issue, pending decision or decision-making process. It is an advocacy tool which we hope will influence the outcome or resolution of the issue or decision in favour of the principles advocated by Care Watch.
2023 Pre-Budget Submission
February 2023
A government uses its budget to express its priorities. We call on the government of Ontario to build and fund a comprehensive system of care for older adults that starts in homes and communities. We ask for significant investments in home and community services; priority for community-based non-profit agencies; a provincial strategy to recruit and retain personal support workers; equal pay for personal support workers across homes, communities, and institutions; and a secure place for home and community services within planning and funding structures.
Read the full 2023 Pre-Budget Submission
Letter to Mayor Tory Regarding City of Toronto 2023 Budget
Municipalities are responsible for public health, transportation, housing, and recreational opportunities – the conditions that keep older adults in their homes and communities. We ask the mayor and the budget committee to invest in housing for older adults and in the local community agencies that deliver home care and personal services. We also urge Toronto to advocate to the provincial government for wage equality so that the workers who deliver these community services earn as much as those who work in institutions.
2022 Pre-Budget Submission
January 2022
Investing in home and community care saves money – money the health care system needs. The province’s own estimates in 2020 showed that caring for a long-term care equivalent client at home costs a little more than $100 per day – far less than the $201 per day in a long-term care home or the $730 per day as an alternative level of care patient in a hospital. About 8% of current long-term care residents in Ontario could be living at home if they had support. Keeping these clients at home would have generated annual health system savings of about $238 million. The National Institute on Ageing has told us that strengthening home and community care services could save the province close to $250,000 in capital costs for each long-term care bed it would no longer need.
Read the full 2022 Pre-Budget Submission
Submission to Ontario’s Nursing Home COVID-19 Inquiry
Care Watch welcomes the inquiry into COVID-19 in Ontario’s nursing homes. Home care and institutional care serve many of the same clients, who sometimes move between settings. They also draw workers – largely personal support workers – from the same pool. We are learning that COVID-19’s effects can last long beyond the acute phase. . Some people will go from hospitals to their own homes or to a residential setting, but may need further care and perhaps readmission. We therefore need to view these services as a system. What we learn through the inquiry will benefit the system as a whole.
Download the PDF: Care Watch Submission to Ontario’s Nursing Home COVID-19 Inquiry, November 2, 2020
Connecting People to Home and Community Care Act, 2020 (formerly Bill 175)
Bill 175 – the Connecting People to Home and Community Care Act, 2020 – was passed and received Royal Assent on July 8, 2020. Despite significant recommended changes from a wide variety of stakeholders, Bill 175 was passed with only minor government amendments.
In addition to our submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy, Care Watch also supported an attempt to have the Bill withdrawn to take into account the numerous calls for further consultation with a wider range of stakeholders. The government ignored these concerns. Care Watch stands by its critique of the Bill – now official legislation – which significantly restructures how home and community care will be delivered in Ontario.
Our briefing note assessing the proposed changes can be found here.
Download PDF: Withdraw Bill 175 – Letter to Premier Doug Ford and Minister Christine Elliott, June 28, 2020
Download PDF: Bill 175 – Connecting People to Home and Community Care Act, May 21, 2020. This submission to the Standing Committee called for significant clarification of the proposed legislation.
The government claims that the new legislation will make it easier for people to access home and community care in hospital, primary care, or community settings; help people connect with their care providers; and provide more choice for people with high needs to receive care in new community settings. However, Bill 175 did not support these claims. Transferring planning, coordination, and delivery of home and community care services to Ontario Health Teams (and their delegates) raises concerns that services will be fragmented and inequitable; inconsistent assessments will lead to inadequate care; and privatization will swallow the public interest.
Given the passage of the Act, attention must now be turned to the various regulations and policies that will be used to implement the new system. Care Watch will continue to monitor, assess, and comment on proposed regulations and policies.
What can you do? Become familiar with changes to our home and community care system. Communicate your opinions to your local MPP. If you don’t know how to contact them, check for their contact information at: https://www.ola.org/en/get-involved/contact-mpp.
Care Watch’s Submission to Ontario’s 2020 Pre-Budget Hearing
Care Watch has provided input to Ontario’s 2020 Pre-Budget Hearings relating to funding of in-home and community support services. Our goal is to see that Ontario’s seniors receive the services they need to live safely at home and thrive in their communities. We ask key ministers to support funding of home care and community support services in the forthcoming budget.
Care Watch Submission to Ontario’s 2020 Pre-Budget Hearing, November 29, 2019
What can you do? Share our submission with your local MPP and seek their support for necessary funding.
Archived Submissions
Submissions addressing home care restructuring and the Patients First Act, 2016
Submissions addressing the provincial health and community care budget, 2016
Care Watch 