Tory MPP for Oxford County Ernie Hardeman is demanding answers from Ontario’s health minister in the wake of former nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer’s guilty pleas in the murders of eight seniors.
Hardeman has written an open letter to Eric Hoskins asking him to detail the steps being taken to investigate how Wettlaufer was able to take the lives of eight seniors — seven in Woodstock and one in London — within the long-term care system.
“Members of our community, including the friends and family of the victims, are asking for a public inquiry to get answers on what happened and ensure this cannot happen again,” wrote Hardeman.
“The people of Oxford — and across Ontario — need assurances that your government will not simply ignore the problems that have been identified, but instead will properly investigate and address them.
The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) is also calling for a public inquiry into the deaths of Wettlaufer’s victims.
“We need to get to the bottom of what happened, how it happened and what we can learn from an organizational, regulatory and system perspective to ensure nothing like this ever happens again,” Doris Grinspun, RNAO CEO, and the group’s president, Carol Timmings, said in a statement. “We want no stone unturned in this effort.”
Records from the College of Nurses of Ontario show Wettlaufer was first registered as a nurse in August 1995 but resigned Sept. 30, 2016, and is no longer a registered nurse. She also faces a disciplinary hearing with the college, court heard.
Susan Horvath, the daughter of one of Wettlaufer’s victims, tells AM980 she’s skeptical the government will look into what happened.
“I cannot see them actually doing a full blown investigation when all of these other people have been trying so hard for many many years to get through and they’re just shunning all of this away,” she said.
But Horvath remains hopeful there will be a public inquiry.
“Again, the big question is what kind of a step is the Liberal government going to do at this stage of the game, are they just going to, again, pacify everybody and say, ‘we’re getting to it, it’s under investigation currently.'”
Hoskins previously stated the government is open to looking into the deaths, but he refused to comment further because the case is still before the courts.
Last October, Hoskins argued Ontario already has a robust system of inspections and oversight in place.
Wettlaufer will be back in court June 26 and 27 for victim impact statements and sentencing. She’s expected to receive a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
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