The leader of the federal New Democrats wants to see profit taken out of long-term care across Canada.
Jagmeet Singh made a stop in Windsor on Tuesday and delivered what's being called a 'Care Guarantee', promising to help loved ones in long-term care, along with their families and the workers that look after them.
It's what the NDP is calling their first campaign promise, with a focus on taking profits out of long-term care.
Singh announced the promise during a series of meetings with Windsor West NDP MP Brian Masse, local politicians, union leaders and healthcare workers.
He says he wanted to speak with a cross-section of people in Windsor-Essex, but long-term care is in the spotlight.
"We had people who lost their jobs, small businesses that were forced to shut down, it's been hard on so many people. But what's been the most heart-breaking is that it's our seniors in long-term care that have born the brunt of this pandemic," says Singh. "They're the ones that have lost their lives the most, so what we're calling for is a way to help seniors get profit out of long-term care."
He says it was also heartbreaking to hear what the long-term care workers were going through.
"How they're being asked to do so much with so little, that there is so much work but not enough hours in the day, they don't have enough staff. They love and care for the people they take care of but they just don't have enough resources," says Singh. "In the for-profit homes, getting the protective equipment was hard, getting the care for the seniors that needed the care was so hard."
Singh says he's hearing the same stories from the workers at for-profit long-term care homes, that companies are cutting corners and cutting hours.
"Hours of staffing has been found, very clearly, to directly relate to the quality of care that seniors receive. So these workers are telling me 'we're trying to do everything that these residents that they love and care about need,' but they just don't have enough time to do it because they're being asked to represent or take care of 30 residents, one person," he adds.
Long-term care is regulated by the province but Singh says the federal government needs to get involved with more funding.