Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday he’s “not taking anything off the table” when it comes to addressing shortcomings in Canada’s long-term care homes, but stayed tight-lipped on whether he thinks there should be a national inquiry into the state of the challenged system.
The prime minister’s comments follow the release of two Canadian military reports about the challenges and conditions that soldiers observed in Ontario and Quebec nursing homes hard-hit by COVID-19.
When asked by a journalist whether he thinks there needs to be a national inquiry into long-term care facilities, Trudeau said the federal government’s focus is on providing immediate assistance at this point in the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“I think right now, while we’re in this crisis, our responsibility is to respond to this crisis as best we can and to ensure that we’re improving, in the [COVID-19] context, care as best we can,” the prime minister said, adding the country “absolutely” needs to have “conversations about how we care for our elders” in the long-term.
Trudeau said those conversations will “be held at the appropriate time.”
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