Dignity Denied 2012: Long-Term Care and Canada's Elderly

Canadians cherish our universal, public health care system. It provides access to quality life-long health care services for all Canadians, regardless of wealth, social status or other barriers. For the most part, this is true. Sadly, though, there is a hole in Canada’s health care system. For tens of thousands of Canada’s seniors today – and many thousands more in the years ahead – the universality of our health care system ends at the doors of nursing home facilities. Some of these facilities are excellent, serving as a beacon for the care of seniors. Sadly, they seem to be the exception. As a result of government neglect and corporate profit-taking, the needs of many seniors have been swept under the carpet, abandoned and ignored by health care commissions, politicians and policy makers alike. This report details the ongoing crisis in nursing home care across the country and it proposes a series of bold and sweeping reforms to ensure our elderly get the care they need and deserve.