VANCOUVER – The future of Canada’s long-term care industry is an issue that will continue to dominate conversations among policy makers, and family members for months and years to come.
New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds four-in-five Canadians saying the pandemic fundamentally altered the way they view the industry.
Further, half of Canadians (47%) now say they will do everything in their power to avoid entering LTC themselves and to keep close family members out.
One-in-five (22%) say they’ll start saving for such a plan, while more than twice that number say they “dread” the thought of living in long-term care (44%).
If the industry is to be improved, three-quarters of Canadians say either significant changes (45%) or a total overhaul (31%) is necessary.
Three-in-five say private care should be minimized or phased out, rising to two-thirds among those 55 years of age and older.
That said, two-in-five say that private care can still be a part of the solution to the problems facing the industry.
Seven-in-ten (72%) say Canada should invest more in homecare, and a full majority (55%) say they would be willing to pay more in taxes to accomplish it in their own province.
