Overview:
Last week I reintroduced the ‘Till Death Do Us Part Act. Too often, I hear stories of couples entering LTC who are torn apart. Ontario seniors deserve dignity in care & should have the right to live together as they age. #onpoli @CarpAdvocacy @AdvantAgeOnt @CareWatchON @CLRI_LTC pic.twitter.com/EkLfEw11nv
— MPP Catherine Fife (@CFifeKW) September 13, 2022
MPP Catherine Fife's 'Till Death Do Us Part Act will ensure that senior couples have the right to remain together in long-term care homes.
The premise is simple: Senior couples often face the heartbreaking prospect of being split up when they enter long-term care; they should have the right to live out their last years together.
MPP Fife has been pushing for the 'Till Death Do Us Part Act since 2019.
Check out MPP Fife's op-ed, "Forcing senior couples apart in long-term care must stop" in the Toronto Start here.
Check out MPP Fife's op-ed, "No couple should be forced apart in Ontario's long-term care" in The Waterloo Region Record here.
Current Status of this bill:
MPP most recently re-introduced the 'Till Death Do Us Part Act (Bill 21) in September 2022 and this act passed second reading on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. Watch a clip of the vote on November 15, 2022 here:
While this should mean the bill is one step closer to ensuring senior couples have the right to remain together in long-term care homes, this bill has now been sitting in committee since November 2022. Watch this exchange between MPP Fife and Minister Calandra about whether the Ford government will pass the 'Till Death Do Us Part act during Question Period in November 2022:
It is important to keep up the pressure on this government. Please keep reading for ways you can take action on this issue!
You can find information about this bill on the Ontario Legislative Assembly's website here.
For more information on the stages of a bill, click here.
Take Action:
Sign a Petition: Download & sign a petition supporting the 'Till Death Do Us Part Act here. This petition calls on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to direct the Minister of Long-Term Care to call Bill 21 to the Standing Committee on Social Policy.
Write to local conservative MPPs, the Minister of Long-Term Care and the Premier: You can reach out to local MPPs Jess Dixon (Kitchener South Hespeler), Mike Harris Jr. (Kitchener Conestoga), Brian Riddell (Cambridge), Minister of Long-Term Care Stan Cho, and Premier Doug Ford to let them know you support this bill and to ask for their support of this bill.
Not giving up on senior reunification. Thanks to all who collected signatures. “Till Death Do Us Part”, #Bill21 needs to be the law in Ontario. #onpoli pic.twitter.com/sIF1rUgTkj
— MPP Catherine Fife (@CFifeKW) December 5, 2022
The Story Behind the 'Till Death Do Us Part Act:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1xocF3fAMs
Thanks to Emma Posca and Andre La Rosa Rodriguez from Humber News for covering this story.
If you're interested in learning more, check out the "In the Media" section below.
What is this bill proposing?
Bill 21 amends the Residents Bill of Rights in the Fixing Long-Term Care Act to provide the resident with the right upon admission to continue to live with their spouse or partner.
In the Media:
December 27, 2023: Our Top 10 People Stories Of '23: #6 Kept apart in long-term care (CambridgeToday Staff, Cambridge Today)
October 25, 2023: 'Cruel and unacceptable:' Cambridge council supports effort to keep spouses together in long-term care (Doug Coxson, Cambridge Today)
September 13, 2023: Forcing senior couples apart in long-term care must stop (MPP Catherine Fife, Toronto Star)
July 25, 2023: Bill aims to stop separation of seniors in LTC (CTV Your Morning)
July 19, 2023: Waterloo region seniors separated in long-term care pushing for right to remain together (Spencer Turcotte, CTV News Kitchener)
July 18, 2023: Waterloo MPP appeals for seniors bill to be brought forward (Brad Kraemer, City News)
July 17, 2023: Cambridge senior calls for end to separating couples in long-term care (Johanna Weidner, Waterloo Record)
May 29, 2023: Ontario holding firm on new long-term care law that still separates some partners (Charlie Pinkerton)
December 9, 2022: Bill 7 frees up hospital beds at the cost of separating elderly couples (Emma Posca, Humber News)
November 22, 2022: MPP Fife joined Steve Paikin and John Michael McGrath on the #OnPoli podcast to discuss the 'Till Death Do Us Part Act
September 7, 2022: Waterloo MPP hopes 'third time's a charm' with long-term care private member's bill (CBC News, Kitchener Waterloo)
August 25, 2022: Married 60 years, Cambridge seniors separated by circumstance (Casey Taylor, Cambridge Today)
August 23, 2022: Together in marriage but separated by circumstance (Casey Taylor, City News Kitchener)
May 21, 2022: Cambridge couple in their 80s forced to live apart because of inhumane long-term care rules (Luisa D’Amato, The Record)
Support for the Till Death Do Us Part Act across Ontario:
MPP Fife mailed every Mayor in Ontario asking them to show their support for Till Death Do Us Part at the municipal level. To date, over 70 Councils across Ontario have passed motions supporting this legislation. Thanks to the following Councils for your support & advocacy:
Alberton, Alfed and Platagenet, Alnwick/Haldimand, Alymer, Amaranth, Amherstburg, Armour, Asphodel-Norwood, Blind River, Bruce Mines, Cambridge, Casselman, Central Elgin, Conmee, Dufferin, East Ferris, East Gwillimbury, East Hawkesbury, Evanturel, Faraday, Fauquier-Strickland, Goderich, Greenstone, Harly, Herast, Hudson, Ingersoll, Johnson Township, Kerns, Killarney, La Vallee, Laurentian Hills, Macdonald, Meredith & Aberdeen Additional, Malahide Township, Marathon, Matachewan, Mattice – Val Côté, McDougall, McKellar, Melanchton, Mono, North Algona Wilberforce Township, North Kawartha, North Perth, Northern Bruce Peninsula, Norwich, O'Connor, Perry, Peterborough, Port Hope, Prescott, Prince Township, Puslinch, Severn, South Algonquin, St-Charles, Sundridge, Temagami, Thames Centre, The Nation Muncipality, Village of Thonloe, Tillsonburg, Wasaga Beach, Wawa, Welland, West Grey, West Perth, Wilmot, Woolwich, & Zorra.
Previous Versions of this Bill:
MPP Fife first introduced the bill in Nov. 27, 2019 and it passed second reading in December of that year, moving it to the committee stage for review. That version of the bill died when the provincial legislature was prorogued in 2021. You can read more about Bill 153 (2019) here. MPP Fife and MPP Sara Singh re-introduced this legislation as the Long-Term Care Homes Amendment (Till Death Do Us Part) Act in 2022. This version of the bill died when the provincial election was called in the spring of 2022. You can read more about Bill 95 (2022) here.