Most PSAC members contribute to the Public Service Pension (PSP) plan through their federal government pension contributions. PSP Investments is the sole owner of Revera, Inc., which is the second largest owner and operator of private, for-profit long-term care homes in the country.
Since the start of the pandemic, residents of private long-term care homes have suffered higher rates of infection than residents in publicly owned and operated homes. These residents are also much more likely to die.
In Manitoba, at least 382 residents and staff have been infected with COVID-19 at Revera homes, including Parkview Place and Maples. At least 69 residents have died. This is unacceptable. There is no room for profit in long-term care.
On December 2, PSAC Prairies partnered with the Manitoba Health Coalition to host a webinar on this timely issue. Attendees of the Make Revera Public! A (Virtual) Town Hall heard directly from the lived experiences of those who have lost loved ones in Revera homes and first hand frontline health care workers detailing of the conditions at Revera. We also discussed PSAC's campaign for the public service pension plan to pull out of the business of long-term care.
Canadians have experienced the devastating consequences of for-profit providers in long-term care. We can and must make sure the proper changes are made to how we care for older adults so this crisis never happens again. This includes getting private, for-profit providers out of long-term care.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
The Public Service Pension (PSP) plan should not be earning dividends at the expense of the wellbeing of seniors. Join us in calling on the federal government to make Revera public!
Our campaign is already getting noticed. Add your voice today.
Send the federal government a letter today to make Revera public!
Call you MP! Ask them what they are doing to bring all privately-owned, for-profit long-term care facilities where they belong – into public ownership and operation.
We can do more to fix seniors' care at a provincial level. Send an email to your MLA today. Sign the Manitoba Health Coalitions petition to address the funding and staffing shortages in Manitoba's personal care homes. Contrary to what Manitoba’s Minister of Health, Cameron Friesen thinks, the deaths in long-term care were and are preventable.
Older adults, families and front-line health care workers need our government to understand that working conditions in our PCH's are care conditions. We are not powerless in this situation. Decisive action needs to be taken to save lives and protect our residents and frontline health care workers.
Finally, the pandemic has laid bare the systemic failures in Manitoba to ensure older adults have the necessary resources and supports needed to age with dignity and respect. Now more than ever we need a system that works for all older adults and their families. An Office of the Seniors Advocate would be the first step to make meaningful change for Manitobans and their families. Email your MLA today!
Thank you for taking action! Please share these tools with your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours - anyone you know who cares about the living conditions of older Canadians in long-term care and the working conditions of the staff who care for them.
#FixSeniorsCareNOW #MakeReveraPublic