MEDIA ADVISORY: Workers and Community Leaders Rally to Demand Ford Government Address Long-Term Care Crisis

Staff, Leaders, and Allies Rally Outside Extendicare HQ

MARKHAM, ON –(COMMUNITYWIRE)– Long-Term care workers at Extendicare headquarters in Markham are rallying with community allies and local political leaders to bring attention to major problems in long-term care homes.

The rallying workers, members of CUPE Local 4788, have been working under consistent staff shortages and funding gaps.

Since 2018, the Ford government has promised to address issues that are rampant across the health care system. Despite this, the province has opened far fewer than the promised number of new beds in long-term care. As such, the waitlist has doubled over the past 10 years.

Long-term care homes, like Extendicare, now have problems with retention of several professions such as Personal Support Workers and Registered Practical Nurses.

Further, the provincial government has failed to meet the four-hour daily resident care standard, a standard they themselves passed as legislation. This alongside the staffing problems means that long-term care workers are faced with increased workloads, meaning residents don’t receive sufficient close attention.

Additionally, long-term care workers are consistently subject to incorrect pay due to a constantly unreliable new payment system.

CUPE 4788 and their allies demand an immediate investment in long-term care homes to fix the problems that have resulted in these problems.

Details

SPEAKERS:
CUPE Local 4788 President Lisa Freeman, Ontario Municipal Workers Chair Krista Laing

DATE:
April 9^th, 2025

TIME:
11:00 a.m.

LOCATION:
Extendicare Headquarters, 3000 Steeles Avenue East, Markham ON L3R 4T9

Key Issues:

• Faulty payment system that fails to reliably pay workers for the hours they have worked in long-term care homes.
• An insufficient level of long-term care spaces available across the province, with expansion happening at a much slower rate than demand.
• Attraction and retention problems for multiple crucial professions.
• Insufficient full-time hours.
• High levels of workloads because of unattractive working and payment conditions.
• Non-compliance with legislated four hours of care per resident per day.

About CUPE:

The Canadian Union of Public Employees is Canada’s largest union, representing public sector workers across the country. CUPE members provide vital services to communities, including health care, education, social services, and more.

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Contact:

Kevin Taghabon, CUPE Communications
ktaghabon@cupe.ca
647-336-4991