Wayne Gates
Special to Niagara Now/The Lake Report
To me, there’s nothing more important than ensuring our seniors live in security, dignity, and safely in their golden years. These are the people who built this province, and we should never force them to accept anything less than the greatest care possible.
That’s why I was so concerned at the news last week that Welland’s hospital will be closing the doors of their long-term care home.
That’s 87 seniors who will have to be relocated, many of whom who have called this facility a home for 20 years. That’s 87 families that now must deal with the stress and pressure of moving their loved one, and 87 less beds to provide care in a community that already deals with years-long wait lists for a bed in long term care.
This is not how a province that values dignity and respect for seniors behaves.
And let’s be clear about a few things: firstly, the decision to close this home was made by Niagara Health. Secondly, this is a cut. It’s a cut of 115 beds in Niagara. It means less space for seniors who are already dealing with out of control wait times.
It affects people living across the region, including in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Less bed capacity and 87 seniors needing to find a new home means longer wait times, less access to care, and more strain on our public hospitals and health care workers.
Experts have warned of a “demographic tsunami” as our population ages and more seniors need care. This is a time for bold investment, not the slow drip of cuts and closures.
Not only have these seniors had their lives upended, 140 workers are now left wondering when or whether they will be redeployed into other jobs now that theirs are cut.
This comes on the heels of nearly 100 layoffs that Niagara Health announced last year, and a report from the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions projecting that current provincial funding models will lead to thousands of nurses and personal support workers losing their jobs by 2027-28.
Let’s face it: we have an aging population in Ontario and here in Niagara-on-the-Lake, where people 65 years and older make up more than 36 per cent of the population.
In fact, we have 50,000 people on the long-term care waitlist across the province, double what it was a decade ago. Thousands of those people are residents here in Niagara.
Niagara-on-the-Lake has faced its fair share of health care and long-term care cuts, including the closure of Upper Canada Lodge in 2024.
We’ve made progress here by working together as a community to open Niagara Long Term Care Residence. But let’s be clear: we shouldn’t accept any cuts to beds in long-term care in Niagara.
As MPP, I’ve already raised this with the premier and the Minister of Long-term Care. My office is working with all families affected in our riding to ensure their loved ones get the care they need and the home they deserve.
But we must stand together to say: no more cuts, fund publicly-delivered health care and long-term care appropriately, treat nurses and personal support workers with respect, and let’s build a province where every senior lives with respect and dignity.
Wayne Gates is the member of provincial parliament for the Niagara Falls riding.
