St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens has tabled legislation that will give Ontario’s veterans priority access to long-term care beds right across the province.
The NDP Veterans, Legions and Military Affairs critic says it will close loopholes that are forcing those who served to languish on waiting lists.
She says current legislation narrowly defines veterans as those who served in the First World War, Second World War, and the Korean War, and the loophole forces modern day veterans to sit on waitlists, rather than be given the care they need, as soon as they need it.
Stevens says that all residents have a duty to care for those who have served and we can do better to give veterans the care and the home they deserve, when and where they need it.
She says there are nearly 33,000 people stuck on wait lists for long-term care, and the largest group waiting is modern-day veterans.
Stevens’ bill will be debated Thursday.