Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau campaigned for seniors’ votes Thursday, pledging to train up to 25,000 new personal support workers and guarantee them a minimum wage of at least $25 per hour.
Trudeau says the pandemic has been devastating for Canada’s seniors, especially those in long-term care.
Long-term care residents have accounted for the majority of COVID-19 deaths in Canada.
Trudeau says that while health care is the jurisdiction of provinces and territories, a re-elected Liberal government would work with them to support seniors.
He says they would give provinces and territories $3 billion to improve the quality and availability of long-term care beds, and develop a Safe Long Term Care Act to ensure standards are upheld across the country.
The Liberals say the seniors’ promises would cost about $9 billion over five years.