Demands grow for national, universal long-term care in response to pandemic

Demands grow for national, universal long-term care in response to pandemic

NDP health critic Don Davies called the current situation in Canada "appalling and unacceptable." He said the country must move to bring long-term care under the Canada Health Act.

"When seniors are in hospital, they are cared for in our public system. When they are transferred to long-term care, there is no reason this should change," he told CBC.

"I think bringing long-term care under our public health system is key to addressing the deplorable conditions our seniors in care face. It would also result in more effective and efficient care."

CBC NEWS
‘Silent good’: PHAC appropriate body for pandemic response, but needs reliable resources and more power, say experts

‘Silent good’: PHAC appropriate body for pandemic response, but needs reliable resources and more power, say experts

“The problem isn’t a structural one. The problem is governments have ignored repeated, clear directions, and frankly, that’s scandalous,” Mr. Davies said, pointing to the federal auditor general’s 2010 report that found that public health officials were not maintaining a proper accounting of the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile. (The stockpile is a system of 11 warehouses for medical equipment and supplies.) “It’s not quite clear what role PHAC did or didn’t play in this. They operate with [federal] resources and at the direction of government.” 

Hill Times
Public Health Agency of Canada needs more funding, resources, power

Public Health Agency of Canada needs more funding, resources, power

As NDP MP Don Davies told The Hill Times, governments over the years have been warned about the country’s “lack of emergency preparation,” and they’ve done nothing. Pointing to the federal auditor general’s 2010 report that found that public health officials were not maintaining a proper accounting of the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile, and other warnings following SARS, he described that as “scandalous."

Hill Times
Trudeau concedes PPE stockpile fell short, NDP charges a ‘breach of duty’

Trudeau concedes PPE stockpile fell short, NDP charges a ‘breach of duty’

The inadequate funding and mismanagement of the stockpile spanned both Conservative and Liberal governments, NDP MP and health critic Don Davies said, adding neither has an excuse for the shortcomings.

“It’s a serious breach of duty that puts Canadian’s lives unnecessarily at risk," Mr. Davies said.

Globe & Mail
MPs issue rare summons of WHO doctor Bruce Aylward to appear before house committee

MPs issue rare summons of WHO doctor Bruce Aylward to appear before house committee

“To me this is not about politics, I am not there to delve into the politics of the WHO I am purely interested in their information and the way they responded to the COVID-19 crisis,” he said.

He said if Aylward is prepared to do media interviews he should testify.

“I don’t understand the difference. If he is prepared to come forward and on the record answer questions, why wouldn’t he want to do that with our committee.”

Davies said Aylward has a global perspective that will be valuable in the committee’s research.

National Post
WHO balks at Ottawa’s request that key adviser testify before MPs

WHO balks at Ottawa’s request that key adviser testify before MPs

Don Davies, NDP health critic and another member of the committee, said he would support issuing a summons.

“I’m disappointed in the WHO’s position, especially considering we are seeking information from a Canadian official,” Mr. Davies said. “Their officials should be transparent and accountable to the nations they serve.”

Globe & Mail
Davies: COVID-19 catastrophe in Canada’s long-term care system must spur lasting change

Davies: COVID-19 catastrophe in Canada’s long-term care system must spur lasting change

Our parents and grandparents built this country. They sheltered and nurtured us when we were young and vulnerable. In turn, we have a duty to take care of them as they age.

But COVID-19 has revealed a bitter truth: we have abandoned this responsibility as a country.

Let no one ever claim that we don’t understand the consequences of this collective neglect.

There are no more excuses. It’s time to make this right.

Read more
McKinnon in talks with WHO’s Aylward to appear before health committee

McKinnon in talks with WHO’s Aylward to appear before health committee

NDP MP Don Davies (Vancouver-Kingsway, B.C.), his party’s health critic and a member of the agenda and procedure subcommittee, said members received an update at the subcommittee meeting on Thursday, April 23, that Dr. Aylward was in Geneva and that the WHO is trying to arrange a way to have him appear before the committee by videoconference, but that nothing has been confirmed.

Hill Times
National emergency stockpile had $3-million baseline budget, lower than a decade ago

National emergency stockpile had $3-million baseline budget, lower than a decade ago

Questions about the stockpile’s state of readiness for the COVID-19 pandemic have been mounting for more than a month. On April 1, Health Minister Patty Hajdu told reporters that the government “likely did not have enough” equipment and that public-health preparedness had been underfunded for decades.

The stockpile’s budget is not available in public documents and PHAC officials, speaking at a House of Commons committee on Wednesday, couldn’t answer NDP MP Don Davies’s question about it.

Globe & Mail
Canada cut number of stockpile storage locations for critical medical supplies by one third in past two years

Canada cut number of stockpile storage locations for critical medical supplies by one third in past two years

The specific budget for the stockpile is not publicly available and Ms. Thornton was not able to provide the information when asked by NDP MP Don Davies. However, the funding envelope for the agency’s program that is responsible for managing the NESS has changed dramatically over the past decade of Conservative and Liberal governments, to $71.8-million in 2014 from $19.8 million in 2012.

Globe & Mail
Constituent Resources
Attend an Event
Welcome to Kingsway
Vancouver

Don.Davies@parl.gc.ca

604.775.6263

Address:
2951 Kingsway Ave.
Vancouver, BC V5R 5J4

Ottawa

Address:
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
(postage-free)