The past 10 days have been saturated by events surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth the second and the accession of King Charles the third. I have no problem with that. It is quite appropriate as we mark the end of one era and the beginning of another. For many people, it is a once in a lifetime experience.
Nor do I have a problem with the Prime Minister declaring a Federal holiday to mark the Queen’s funeral on Monday. It is a symbol of respect emulated by many countries around the world. However, I also support the decision of the Premier of Ontario to declare Monday a day of mourning, but not a provincial holiday.
The Prime Minister has done what needed to be done in this regard for Canada, and not duplicating that in Ontario, where people can be respectful of the occasion but still get on with their lives, is appropriate. I for one will be up at 5 am on Monday morning to watch the Queen’s funeral, and at my desk by 9 am.
I also believe it is entirely appropriate for young people to be in school on Monday where they can learn about the Queen’s place in our history and her extraordinary role, not only in Canada, but throughout the world. That’s what schools are for and for some school boards to attempt to dumb it down because of perceived “sensitivity”, is just plain wrong. As well, it is just another sad reminder of the current tendency toward revisionism and woke politics.
But life does indeed move on, and there are several other matters that have caught my attention over the past week or two. Let’s look at a few of these.
There has been much hulabaloo over recent legislation passed by the Ford Government in Ontario, in order that people who no longer require hospital treatment can be removed from those institutions to more appropriate places of care. Tough measures perhaps, but the right thing to do.
Hospitals are for acute care, not for chronic care, and they are not homes for the aged. Most people are aware that health care in Canada badly needs reform. One serious problem is that hospitals are clogged. People who do not need to be there, need to be cared for in a facility that more closely fits their requirements.
Health care reform is a step- by- step process. It does not happen overnight. In addressing these issues, governments of all stripes will be damned if they do and damned if they don’t. This step taken by the Ford Government will not win a popularity contest, but it is a necessary step in the right direction.
Where I think the Ford Government needs to up its game, however, is to get on with lifting the 1% salary freeze that currently is in place for some health care workers, especially nurses. It remains unconscionable, especially given events of the past two years, and needs to be addressed now as part of the solution for increased and more enthusiastic healthcare staffing.
Sticking with Ontario for a moment, I also think Toronto Star columnist Martin Regg Cohn, with whom I seldom agree, had it right when he wrote this week that the Ford Government should give the Liberals official party status in the Legislature even though they did not win the required number of seats. They did win almost 24% of the popular vote, more votes than the NDP who became the Official Opposition due to the vagaries of seat distribution.
Whatever their political stripe, governments, especially in this day and age, need to be held accountable and Provincial Legislatures play a key role in that process. Providing Liberals in Ontario official party status will give them access to resources that would effectively contribute to that important function of opposition parties
At the federal level, Parliament comes back into session this week, but Prime Minister Trudeau continues to keep it as weak as possible. It is high time to end a hybrid parliament. The Prime Minister attends all sorts of global gatherings where many people are present, including the Queen’s funeral and soon, the United Nations. Surely, he can attend his own Parliament on the same basis. Accountability may not be Justin Trudeau’s greatest strength, but Canada deserves better, and Parliament needs to get back to work within the chambers that are intended for it.
There was also a lot of media attention this week to the fact that newly elected Conservative Leader, Pierre Poilievre and his family, will be moving in to “publicly funded” Stornoway. (emphasis on publicly funded) Why shouldn’t they? It is the official residence of the Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. Like it or not, that’s his job now. There will be plenty of legitimate opportunities for the media to be critical of the new Conservative Leader. Sour grapes, in my view, should not be one of them.
But I would say this to Pierre Poilievre: Don’t call a Press conference, as you did last week, if you don’t want to talk to the media and address their questions. You have the right to make your statements and they have a right to question you. The mainstream media certainly has its biases and its faults, but they play a legitimate role in keeping politicians accountable. If you really believe in freedom, I suggest you get used to that.
Hugh Mackenzie.
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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I agree; robbing Peter to pay Paul to fix clogged hospitals is not the solution. Why do seniors have to pay for this Health Care Crisis? At this stage in their lives they should not be moved farther away from family and friends (unless they want to).
The Ontario Conservative government continues to invest the lowest per capita amount in health care, compared across our country. With that fact, what’s to brag about with ER closures, increased wait times (an old Harper cherry-picked stat to justify for-profits), nursing burnouts, etc., etc.????
Very well said Hugh, you have covered the topics objectively and with reason.
I retired in October 2021 from working as a PSW at Fairvern LTC home here in Huntsville. My rate of pay was $20.20/hour. I’m serious, don’t laugh. That was my rate of pay. When Mr. Ford bumped up nursing staff an extra $3.00/ hour it made a real difference in my take home pay. I worked many hours of overtime every pay period. More LTC beds are needed in Ontario but we also need more PSWs to work in these LTC homes. An increase in PSW wages would sure help to get people interested in a LTC career. We are in a real crisis here in Ontario.
I agree with you Ruby. Also if more p.s.w’s were trained and paid better more seniors could stay at home rather than go to long term care facilities.
Ask seniors where they would rather be and I will venture to guess most of them will say, “at home”. That would solve a lot of the hospital and long term care problems.
Wouldn’t it?
Regarding Bill 7:
Let’s say Premier Ford manages to empty out all the hospital beds that are now occupied by folks waiting for a LTC home space, sending those seniors to facilities hours away from their friends and loved ones. He’ll make a big announcement saying that he’s freed up all these beds … and then what? Right now the folks in those beds don’t have nurses and doctors assigned to them. We don’t have enough healthcare workers to staff those beds if they’re used for acute patients. So will the beds just sit there empty, like the ones in those rooms in Huntsville’s hospital that had to be converted to office space ’cause the beds weren’t funded?
Until we fix the staffing crisis in our hospitals, let our elders stay close to their loved ones while they wait for a spot in a local LTC home.
Ford should make Ontario the place to go for health care workers and nurses by paying them their true value…really paying them, as we need more desparately
Ford promised reforms to “Long Term Retirement” homes during Covid, what has happened…nothing. More words with no substance.
Robbing Peter to pay Paul to fix clogged hospitals will not work long term.
Remember how many elderly suffered and died during Covid, we need leadership from people of character.
Mr. Mackenzie; regarding the Acute care penalties and mandatory transfers for those people requiring LTC – this is indeed contrary to the Canada Health Act (specifically, charges for stay in hospital). I know this because HDMH tried this once under the Mike Ford administration and were advised to cease such practice, as seen in contravention of the Canada Health Act.
An immediate, short term solution is to increase available OHIP eligible community home care supports. However, as I have noted previously, this required astute planning post wave one of Covid – for PSW and Nursing education and hires. Additionally, some for-profits providing community health care were still able to pay their investors dividends during COVID. Do they not bear some responsibility to use those profits in recruitment, training, and wages of health service resources?
Your comments ring home for me. even though l have been a staunch Liberal for most of my life. However, l believe in voting for an appropriate candidate regardless of the party affiliation. I also believe that all eligible people should vote in all elections.
Keep the commentary coming.
We must learn from each other and I would be surprised if the Royal family is not “woke” as we all must be as we learn to be sensitive to the very real racism endured by Canada’s Indigenous people and the slavery that is the root of much of colonial wealth. Pretence that this is ” revisionism” colours your current column with the worst of conservative populist rhetoric. Please join in the Orange T Shirt march and presentation on Friday Sept 30. We must all move ahead indeed.
Only 17.6% of eligible voters voted for Ford’s “majority.” ”
“None of the Above” actually won Ontario in a landslide.
Record low turnout.
In some countries with so few voting another election would have to be held with all new candidates that people would vote for.
In some other countries voting is mandatory.
The Ontario election is just the latest example of how cynical the electorate has become.
It doesn’t matter what party is elected, none will follow through with election promises.
The best liar wins.
Would anyone vote for a party forcing the elderly into a LTC far from home?
Of course not.
Keep that a secret until after the election.
Just like Ford’s mandate letters are still secret.
He’s been spending taxpayer money in court since 2018 trying to keep them secret. And losing.
You might think people would demand the letters are made public before the election to see what we are really getting.
Nope.
False election promises it is.
Good observations Hugh.
As far as Polivere’s relations with the media is concerned, it is pretty predictable. The media is demonstrably liberal, in today’s parlance, progressive. and will do what it can do to cast a negative, pejorative and critical light on him, especially him. Ditto the CBC.
So Canadians need to filter what is being said through a knowing filter.
I am interested in politics and these are very interesting times.
Hi Hugh, most teachers would agree with you and they would also ask, where is the curriculum to discuss the Queen. As we know, most teachers are quite industrious when it comes to making steak out of table scraps. But to hang their hat on the “kids need to be in school” for the Queens funeral, they (Ford/Lecce) might want to be prepared with some curriculum.