The Ontario government has promised to build additional, modern long-term care homes and to accelerate the construction of long-term care projects, and new and redeveloped beds. Over the next five years, the government says it will spend $1.75 billion in long-term care homes. It is also updating design standards to make mandatory air conditioning for any new and renovated homes, beginning immediately.
“After inheriting 15 years of underinvestment in long-term care and a massive waitlist of seniors, our government is putting forward bold new solutions to turbo charge the development of long-term care beds across the province and ensure our most vulnerable citizens can live in modern surroundings,” said Premier Ford.
The ministry will create four new regional categories based on geographic location, each with a targeted home size: large urban, urban, mid-size, and rural. An increase to the province’s construction funding subsidy (CFS) will be tailored to each of these four categories.
The government will provide development grants, between 10 per cent and 17 per cent depending on regional category, to cover upfront costs like development charges, land and other construction expenses;
Small operators in rural communities will get help to navigate the high cost of development, while ensuring larger urban centres can secure the loans and real estate they need; and
Currently, more than 38,000 people are on the waitlist to access a long-term care space, and new long-term care home construction has not kept pace. A government release says the previous “one-size-fits-all” funding model has not spurred development nor accounted for how regional differences impact land, construction and other development costs.
Between 2011 and 2018, there were 611 long-term care beds built across the province ― less than one bed per home.
Nearly 78,000 Ontario residents currently live in 626 long-term care homes across the province.
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