Submitted by Lesley Hastie
I was wondering how to get an empathy bypass… It must be so useful. One could just disregard what happens to those who are different, and instead make sure we get the best for our circle of friends.
I was thinking about this when I saw that Mike Harris, former Conservative premier of Ontario, has been chairman of the board of Chartwell since 2003 and he presided over the deregulation of the long-term care sector in Ontario.
Two investment firms recently asked Chartwell to study possibly implementing a living wage for its employees and to disclose how Chartwell manages risks to employees.
But shareholders don’t need to worry… Chartwell’s board advised them to vote against both these proposals because, among other things, the living wage proposal is an inefficient use of resources. So, thankfully, less inefficiency. Phew!
But readers will be relieved to know that, according to a Globe and Mail article by David Milstead, “Chartwell said its board decided to tweak its compensation plans in light of the pandemic”, which was kind. [More on that here.]
Milstead goes on to say, “Chief executive officer Vlad Volodarski, promoted to CEO on March 16, [2020], made $1.91 million, including a $323,967 bonus. It was more than double his 2019 pay, when he served as chief financial officer. His predecessor, Brent Binions, made $2.46 million in 2019. Three other top executives made bonuses between $187,187 and $207,627, with total paycheques ranging from $1.04 million to $1.17 million.”
So where can I get my empathy bypass? Perhaps Doug Ford can advise.
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This is why CEO’s receive a huge bonus.
They do keep the worker at the poverty pay level.
Higher dividends for the stockholders.
Ford has already given millions of tax dollars to the for profit
nursing homes. Not to benefit the patients or the workers.
This will go directly in the pockets of the stockholders and brass like Mike Harris.
Removing Ford from office next election? The other two choices frighten me even more!
Don’t forget this come June 2022, at Provincial Election.
We cannot give Conservatives and DF leadership a pass on this one!
Please Vote Any Other Party But…
Well said Phil !!!
Empathy and being wealthy aren’t necessarily complimentary characteristics.
Great article, thank you very much, Leslie Hastie. And excellent comments by Susan Godfrey and Phil Beacock.
There should be no for-profit industries where health and education are involved.
There should be only national, not-for-profit LTCs, hospitals & clinics, pharma research and development & manufacturing, and education.
There are so many other spheres of the economy where for-profit enterprises can be successful and profitable. There is no need to allow profiteering in the services where first-class nursing care, health providing, and education are the goals, which is the aim of every country that deems itself to be a civilized country.
Where profit is the paramount goal, the staff and the service suffer. Because the corners are cut to keep the shareholders happy.
BJ
Great article! Fact is the CEO’s of any company is concerned about one thing, the track record has been the same for many years, we want to make more money this quarter then the last! They don’t care about quality, they don’t care about services provided! Quarterly profit increases! You only need to look at how long most anything lasts these days. Fridges 5 years at the most, burnt out, discard to the land fill sites. Everything you buy now is not required to do anything but fail, and the sooner the better, for none other then quarterly profits! Talk about filling up the landfill sites, talk about the earths health! The resources that have gone to the dump do to a lesser product is astounding! Front line workers, production lines, you name it, they are not on the CEO’s list to make life better for, just the share holders and his pay check! Mike Harris is a great example, sell the 407, nuclear plants, then those companies turn around and make record profits and owned or mostly owned by foreign companies, guess thats why he is on the board of directors for Chartwell homes, to make money off someone else’s back! Thank you to all those front line workers, truck drivers to store clerks, doctors to RPN’s and anyone i missed! Follow the guide lines people, we are going to make it!
The whole “for profit” model fails the smell test. Elder care, in assisted- living and long term care homes, should be under the purview of the Ministry of Health not entitled, greedy shareholders and executives. When will it change? I challenge voters to, finally, get rid of business government and instate a peoples’ government.