Dozens of long-term care workers from Windsor-Essex are headed to Queen's Park today.
The group will be joining hundreds of workers from around the province to demand the Liberal Government bring the 'Time to Care Act' for final reading before the spring election.
Bill 33 would legislate a minimum care standard of four hours of hands-on care each day for seniors.
Kerri Bencich has been a long-term care worker in Windsor for the past 16 years and says facilities are short staffed and seniors are suffering.
"One of the hardest things is you have a resident and they're calling for help to go to the bathroom," says Bencich. "What any of us want our own mothers or fathers to have to ring a bell for more than five minutes to get help to the bathroom? Then they end up soiling themselves because there's just no one there to help them."
She says there's just not enough staff to properly care for seniors.
"They're being rushed now. They only have five to seven minutes to help them get up in the morning, taking them to the washroom," Bencich adds "There's no time to wake them up gently. It's just 'get up, let's go'. So we want that to stop."
Bill 33 received all party support at second reading in November, but since then the Liberals have refused to bring it forward for final reading.
According to CUPE, Canada has the lowest long-term care levels among countries with equivalent economies with Ontario scoring the lowest in Canada.
— with files from AM800's Patty Handysides