So serious is he about the welfare of seniors, one of Ontario’s most outspoken cabinet ministers said today that he’s prepared to don an adult diaper — and use it — to satisfy himself that elderly residents of the province’s nursing homes are getting appropriate care.
Health Minister George Smitherman sent eyebrows skyward when he made the straight-faced suggestion in response to critics who say the standard of care in Ontario nursing homes is so bad, residents are spending hours on end wallowing in soiled diapers.
Those complaints have prompted him to “seriously consider” taking one of the diapers commonly used in Ontario nursing homes out for a test run.
“I’ve got one of these incontinence products — albeit a new one, not the ones that tend to appear at committee — on my desk and I’m really giving this matter very serious contemplation,” Smitherman told a group of wide-eyed reporters.
“I want to have the right policy for Ontarians.”
The bizarre remarks sparked outrage among opposition parties and lobby groups who advocate for better standards in the province’s long-term care facilities. The minister is making a farce out of serious questions about the dignity afforded seniors in Ontario, they charged.
“Smitherman’s a damned embarrassment,” said NDP critic Peter Kormos, whose leader Howard Hampton made an impassioned plea for seniors during the election campaign last fall.
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