Item - 2021.MM28.14

City Council on February 2, 3 and 5, 2021, adopted the following:

1.  City Council request the Province of Ontario to:

a.  accelerate distributing the full dosage of available vaccines around the clock to all residents, caregivers and workers in long-term care homes and congregate care settings and address vaccine hesitancy amongst residents and workers;

b.  address the dangerous staffing shortages through stabilizing the workforce by offering more full-time employment opportunities, greater pay, heightened benefits, increased paid sick days and extending the $3 temporary wage increase for workers in both long-term care and institutional settings past the March 31, 2021 expiration date;

c.  develop and release clear, multilingual vaccination roll-out plans for older adults living at home and their caregivers and address vaccine hesitancy amongst older adults and caregivers;

d.  reverse the exemption provided to long-term care homes and congregate care settings from civil proceedings by amending the Supporting Ontario's Recovery Act, 2020;

e.  reform the governance and accountability models of for-profit long-term care homes so that profits can never come before care and safety; and

f.  explore new, and expand current, at-home supports and care to allow for more older adults to age in place.

2.  City Council request the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Long-Term Care to provide additional resources to long-term care homes and congregate care settings to collect data on non-COVID-19 deaths and the impact COVID-19 has had on the functional and psycho-social status and care needs of all residents.