Ontario faces calls to dedicate surplus land for long-term care homes to non-profits

The Ford government is facing calls to ensure surplus public land earmarked for long-term care homes is dedicated to non-profits as it works to boost the number of beds in the province.

The long-term care minister has admitted Ontario is dealing with “capacity pressures” at existing long-term care homes and, as part of its plan to build more beds, the province is relying on public land.

“We have identified certain lands in our surplus bundle which we are working through right now — some projects have already been announced,” Long-Term Care Minister Natalia Kusendova-Bashta confirmed in an interview with Global News.

“Certainly, we’re working with Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Infrastructure to identify other lands that potentially could be used for social benefits like building long-term care.”

One of the areas — a parcel of land the government has been assembling for years in Oakville — was sold to Schlegel Village to build a new long-term care project.

The company told Global News the land in Oakville was posted for sale by Infrastructure Ontario and met its needs to redevelop a home it currently runs in southern Mississauga.

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“The fact Infrastructure Ontario had the land matters not – we’d be happy getting suitable land in a suitable location from any willing seller,” the company said in a statement.

The Oakville site is set to create 512 long-term care beds, while other portions of public land in Vaughan and Aurora are also going to new long-term care projects.

The move, however, is facing criticism from some because it doesn’t appear to prioritize non-profit long-term care homes over the large, for-profit companies.

Asked by Global News if the government was differentiating between for-profit and not-for-profit homes, Kusendova-Bashta said, “We are looking at all project proponents.”

Lisa Levin, the CEO AdvantAge Ontario which represents non-profits working in senior care, said public land earmarked for sale should be given to non-profit and municipal homes to build new beds.

“I feel strongly that if government has surplus land and they’re offering it to long-term care then it should go to the not-for-profit homes because they have a harder time raising the funding and they don’t have the same equity, for example, as a large chain,” she said in an interview with Global News.

“Many new buildings are being built by the not-for-profit sector but there are some that are stalled because they can’t find land, so this would make a huge difference.”

The push for new long-term care beds comes as wait-lists in Ontario balloon.

The Ontario Long Term Care Home Association estimates wait-lists between 2014 and 2024 have doubled from just over 20,000 to almost 48,000 people. Now, half of those waiting for a long-term care bed are stuck in waiting for more than six months.

The group calculates that Ontario needs another 30,000 new spaces to meet current demands and, by 2029, an extra 48,000 spaces will be needed.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles echoed the call for the government to focus only its land on the non-profit sector.

She said she was in favour of using surplus land to get affordable housing projects, or long-term care projects, off the ground but that it should not be given to private companies.

“But this government, they think all the solutions are, for the most part, for profit,” Stiles said. “And we’ve seen how the for-profit sector functioned under the COVID pandemic.”

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