Article by Mariella Policheni — Translation and Video: CNMNG Staff

[Photo in Video Background: Merrilee Fullerton and Rod Phillips]

As his government fluctuates between highs and lows in popularity – lower than high in recent times – Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford has decided to reshuffle the government structure. But what attracted attention was the return of former Finance Minister Rod Phillips – who resigned from his post after a Caribbean vacation during the Covid-19 pandemic – appointed the new Long Term Care minister.
Ford has decided to partially quell the controversy that characterized the work of Merrilee Fullerton for her bad management of Covid in nursing homes. Fullerton will now serve as Minister of Childhood, Community and Social Services.
The criticism was not long in coming as, according to those who have long called for her resignation from the LTC, the minister lacks “empathy, compassion and competence” and even in this new ministry she will not do anything good.
She, for her part, showing decidedly little tact and just as little sensitivity, tweeted “My gratitude goes to the many wonderful people who have helped repair, rebuild and advance long-term care in Ontario.” Nursing home residents and their families have a completely different picture of the situation in the sector, certainly, the one most severely tested by the pandemic with the deaths of 3,782 elderly people. And the problems in these structures are still on the agenda.