(October 21, 2022, St. John’s) – Barry Petten, PC Official Opposition House Leader and MHA for Conception Bay South, says he’s pleased to see the Seniors Advocate stepping up to ask Minister Osborne to do the right thing and begin a systemic review of long-term care in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“The recent media stories out of the Baie Verte long-term care centre are deeply disturbing. On October 19, our caucus wrote a letter to the Senior’s Advocate expressing concern with the multiple media reports out of Baie Verte. Our caucus believes a review is essential to public confidence in the long-term care system in our province,” said Petten.

“The Minister is content to wait for existing, narrow reviews to be completed before beginning a larger scale review of systemic issue. There’s no reason government cannot take the first steps on launching this review while other investigations are taking place.”

On October 20, the Seniors Advocate wrote to Minister Osborne calling for a review of the matter.

Petten says the number of families at the centre continues to grow, which only increases the urgency of such a review.

“The families need answers. It’s as simple as that. Any steps the government can take to speed up the process of getting answers for the families must be explored. Further, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador are disturbed by this story,” said Petten.

“The public must have confidence their loved ones will not be subjected to this kind of humiliation. We must be certain these incidents are not more widespread throughout long-term care in our province. Let’s get this review started and ensure the dignity we owe to our seniors is ensured.”

Letter to Seniors Advocate

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Contacts:

David Maher

Director of Strategic Communications

(cell) 709-725-0984

DavidMaher@gov.nl.ca