Forcing senior couples apart in long-term care must stop

Something many Ontarians may not realize is that senior couples can be forced into different facilities when they enter long-term care in this province.
If you age at a slower rate than your partner, or your partner requires more care in the wake of an illness or injury, they might be sent to a different home or care centre and there’s no requirement for it to be nearby.
This is the heartbreaking reality facing so many seniors across the province, especially as Ontario’s population ages, and long-term-care homes face shortages of staff through systemic underfunding and staff burnout.
Jim McLeod is a senior who has been separated from his beloved wife Joan for almost six years, after 64 years of marriage. His heartbreak has spurred him to advocate relentlessly to be reunited with her, and make sure that no one else endures the same situation.
Jim inspired me to write the ’Til Death Do Us Part Act (Bill 21), a truly non-partisan solution that would ensure couples have the right to remain together and have accommodations in the same home, regardless of their differing needs. If we are redesigning Senior Care in Ontario, we should do it right.
In his own words, Jim’s story must be read:
“My heart is breaking and so is my wife Joan’s. Next month will mark six years that we’ve been physically separated after 64 years of marriage because of a long-term-care system that doesn’t value seniors or listen to our needs. 
Joan doesn’t understand why we can’t be together in our last years. As seniors we have contributed to our communities, paid our taxes and have been part of the province’s success. I ask all levels of government: why we are being treated with such disrespect? 
Ontario needs spousal reunification to be enshrined in legislation. To ignore us, ignore our pain, is to deny seniors the dignity we deserve in our last years together. Being forced to live apart has caused physical and emotional pain for us, and all older adult couples in our position. 
We don’t have much time left on this earth, as we are both in our mid-80s. I won’t stop fighting for us and other people who are in our situation. Will you join us in this fight?
Senior reunification is a non-partisan issue that needs urgent collective action.  Please contact your Member of Provincial Parliament, especially if they are PC.  Bill 21 must become the law in Ontario. In the words of Premier Doug Ford, ‘get it done!’ ”
A compassionate solution must be found for Jim and Joan because this cannot be allowed to go on. Bill 21, or my Till Death Do Us Part Act, is a result of Jim’s tireless advocacy, and has been stalled by Ford’s government at Queen’s Park, who can’t seem to be bothered to call this forward.
Ford could treat this bill with the urgency it deserves, and immediately schedule it for debate when we return to Queen’s Park this fall. After all, Nova Scotia passed similar legislation in just 11 days.
That’s 11 days that would make a huge difference in the lives of seniors like Jim and Joan.
I’m standing right alongside seniors in Ontario to make this right. I hope Ford decides to join us.
MPP Catherine Fife represents the riding of Waterloo.