As the province stalls on voting on a bill designed to keep Ontario couples together in long term care homes, a Cambridge couple is fighting to be reunited.
Jim McLeod and his wife Joan have been married for 65 years. For the last six, they have been separated after Joan was transferred to a long-term care home 25 minutes away at Hilltop Manor.
"We would much rather be together, but unfortunately she is stuck over there and I'm not getting any answers from my politicians," Jim said, frustrated with the province's reluctance to help reunite couples like the McLeods. "You wouldn't understand how devastating this is to me and my wife that we cannot be together after everything we've been through."
Jim is currently living at Fairview Mennonite home on Langs Drive and said the daily drive to visit his wife is getting more difficult each day.
Afternoons and evenings are usually the only times he can make it over to see his partner.
Jim has been trying everything in his power to reunite with Joan. He has taken it upon himself to contact every single member of provincial parliament to plead his case and encourage their support of legislation first brought to the table in 2019 by Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife.
The 'Till Death Do Us Part Act' or Bill 21, and would make it a priority to keep senior couples together as they enter long-term care homes.
"If you have a heart, you are sympathetic towards this situation," Fife said. "This bill was largely inspired by the McLeods and the fact that they were forced to be separated."
The bill was passed unanimously in the house and was referred to the Social Policy Committee where it has been sitting for over 250 days.
Fife is demanding the committee call a meeting and deliberate on the bill.
"Really the goal is to find a compassionate solution to Ontario's Long Term Care System separating seniors who are life partners," she said.
Cambridge MPP Brian Riddell sits as the chair of the social policy committee and thinks that if Bill 21 is passed, it would have unintended consequences on the long-term care system.
"There are nearly 40,000 people on the wait list for long-term care, stemming from a combination of an aging population and a sector that was systemically underfunded for years by former governments," said Riddell. "The bill does not include care requirements for reunification, meaning spouses with minimal care needs or who do not need long-term care at all could be pushed toward the top of the wait list at the expense of others in urgent need of care."
The Cambidge MPP adds that measures already included in the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, from 2021, provide an appropriate balance that considers the desire for spousal reunification with the importance of serving those with the greatest care needs.
McLeod calls this statement by Riddell, "baloney."
"We're dealing with a bunch of jerks that say one thing to get into office and another when all they care about is getting re-elected and getting their pension," added McLeod. "I hope that this would happen to one of them or their parents so they can get a sense of how terrible this is."
Jan Laurence is another senior at Fairview Mennonite Home and her husband had been moved to another facility over a year ago.
Laurence thinks she should be able to help take care of her husband and the quality of their lives would improve if they stayed together.
"I will stand on a box in the centre square and shout it, we need to be together," she said. "I was told that he was only going for a few weeks and then I was told not to worry about it and he is in a safe place, how can we be treated like this?"
McLeod and Laurence were both their partners' main caretakers before entering long-term care. The two maintain if they were able to live in the same building, they could assist with care and free up the valuable time of the personal support workers.
"Instead of driving 25 minutes everyday I could walk two minutes to help Joan with small things. She calls me so many times a day, because she can't see things and I know I would be able to help her," said McLeod.
While there is currently a 10 year wait list to get into the Fairview Mennonite Home, Jim said beds are constantly being turned over and free space is always available.
"Not to sound too dark, but two people died last week. That's two beds that just became available. If Joan was to take one, guess what, that now leaves a bed available at Hilltop," he said. "She is not taking up an extra bed that someone else would need, she would be relocating to a better environment."
Assisted living homes such as Fairview and Hilltop provide hours worth of programming and activities each day. If reunited, the couples would be able to spend valuable time with each other, especially towards the end of their lives.
"These seniors are getting the runaround," said Fife. "Riddell is saying it is the minister's job, the minister is saying it's Riddell's responsibility, there just isn't a sense of urgency."
"Jim is 84-years-old and Joan's health is failing, and they remain separated while politicians are playing games."
Jim has sent hundreds of emails and calls to Riddell and relevant political offices.
After recently sending an email blast to around 80 members of parliament without a reply, he is feeling hopeless anything will get done before his wife passes.
"There is a good chance that Joan won't make it before anything is done for us," Jim said. "But I can't stop my fight for the other people who are in my situation. I paid my taxes all my life, voted PC all my life and they won't event take me into consideration."
