Long-term-care residents are dying in horrific conditions. We need more from Ottawa than another round of meetings

By Susan DelacourtNational Columnist

There’s a long-term-care crisis in Canada that is crying out for short-term, very practical action.

Unfortunately, until this pandemic gripped the country, short-term fixes were not the federal government’s area of expertise. Nor is on-the-ground service delivery, as many of Canada’s Indigenous communities can attest.

It is now abundantly clear that what’s needed to repair the broken long-term-care system in Canada goes far beyond the usual round of government solutions, which too often boil down to bureaucratic processes: federal-provincial talks, inquiries, commissions and meetings.

Even the increasingly popular cries for a “national strategy” or “national standards” aren’t really all that hands-on or immediate. Strategies, we should remember, are just plans to accomplish things, and national standards are ultimately wishes, not results.

The chronic problems at Canada’s long-term-care institutions have been thrown into stark relief because governments stepped out of their safe zone of process and strategy when they called in the military.

The Canadian Forces personnel dispatched to reinforce resources at long-term-care homes in Ontario and Quebec didn’t hold meetings: they got down to work, and almost immediately revealed the horror shows operating within several of the institutions.