The Premier says he was horrified to read reports from the Canadian military that detailed some of the horrors experienced by residents in long term care homes in Ontario and Quebec.

There were allegations of elder abuse with reports that people were left in filth for weeks, others were calling for help to no avail, some were improperly fed, details of cockroach infestations, and other residents left with critical pressure sores.

In his weekly media update on Wednesday, John Horgan says those horror stories are not being duplicated in British Columbia care homes.

“And when we were sworn in as a government back in 2017, we took to heart the work of the Seniors Advocate who had put a pretty exhaustive report in place talking about long term care facilities and the inadequate staffing in those facilities,” he said, noting the previous BC Liberal government did not meet standards around staffing levels it put in place.

“Minister Adrian Dix was tasked with improving the ratio of time per patient, and we were fairly successful at that, with more work to do.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the findings detailed in the military’s report ‘appalling’, adding that reading the report was the hardest thing he has done as premier.

Horgan also says he is confident that care home providers are doing the best they can, under extraordinary circumstances brought on by COVID-19, in a bid to reassure families unable to check on their loved ones in long-term care homes because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“As we got into the pandemic, we discovered also that there was insufficient compensation for some care workers who are finding themselves working at one, two, and sometimes three facilities,” he said.

“Minister Dix and Dr. Bonnie Henry took action to restrict that to ensure that we were not having transmission when it comes to COVID-19.”

Dix went on to say that 92 of the 162 people who have died in B.C. were linked to care homes, and while that number is much lower than Ontario and Quebec, he says it is still unacceptable.