Fullerton told the commission that she and her ministry advocated for stronger measures than what the government was willing to put in place, earlier than they were willing to act
Ontario s long-term care minister said she didn t go public early last year with concerns about COVID-19 spreading in nursing homes because she didn t consider herself an authority on the emerging threat.
Ontario’s long-term care minister should have spoken out earlier about COVID-19 concerns, Horwath says Shawn Jeffords and Nicole Thompson The Canadian Press Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
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Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Ontario’s Opposition says the province’s long-term care minister should have spoken out earlier on the risk COVID-19 posed to the province’s nursing homes.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says Minister Merrilee Fullerton should have made her concerns public when the government said the opposite at the start of the pandemic.
Last Updated Wednesday, January 20, 2021 5:10AM EST Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the province s minister of long-term care is attempting to downplay the COVID-19 crisis in long-term care homes after Minister Merrilee Fullerton accused the official opposition of spreading misinformation. Fullerton, Ontario’s minister of long-term care, told reporters Tuesday that the NDP was using “misinformation” to stoke fear and anxiety in staff and residents of long-term care homes in the province. “If we look at the actual numbers of outbreaks across Ontario, there is a much smaller number of homes that actually have resident cases and from there, a much smaller number of homes that actually have a serious outbreak. And that is where the energy is going to make sure we shore up these homes,” she said at a news conference on Tuesday.