In an attempt to alleviate the shortage of hospital beds with the approach of winter and the flu and COVID season, Prime Minister Doug Ford used his authority to give hospitals more power to discharge vulnerable and elderly patients licensed to go to nursing homes.

Bill 7, known as the More Beds, More Care Act, was introduced 13 days ago and passed on Wednesday amid warnings from critics that it could lead to the transfer of elderly people to homes far from their families. Wayne Gates, a critic, said: "Long-term care homes that have the most available beds are those with the worst records for senior care."

Ford also insisted that nearly 2,000 senior hospital patients on waiting lists for long-term care beds would be better off in nursing homes, even if the facility they were sent to was not on the list of five preferred homes they chose. Doug continued in the daily legislative question period before the vote: "It's about getting the right care for people who need to receive long-term care."

On the other hand, opposition parties said the legislation, which Ford did not mention during the June 2 election campaign in which he returned to office with a larger majority, was rushed without legislative committee hearings or hearings. Interim NDP leader Peter Tabuns said, "Bill 7 was passed by the government today with almost no debate."

In the same context, the minister said no patient would be physically moved without their consent, but he encouraged hospitals to use existing authorities since 1979 to impose a daily fee of $62 on elderly people for care if they refused to move to a nursing facility.

The lack of details when passing the bill raised concerns, with Tabuns citing "fees undiscovered by the Prime Minister or which he does not want to disclose." Acting Liberal leader John Fraser also said the bill paves the way for "coercion" of vulnerable elderly people into places they do not want to go to avoid paying additional fees.

There are now 6,000 patients in Ontario hospitals, including nearly 2,000 waiting for nursing home beds, who no longer need acute care but are waiting for Alternate Levels of Care (ALC), which can include home care or rehabilitation facilities.

Reports from the long-term care committee during COVID-19 and military medical teams visiting many homes, where staffing levels dropped by up to 20 percent during peak infection periods, found that the sector was unprepared for the pandemic. A military report described horrific conditions, with residents suffering dehydration, forced feeding to the point of choking, or being left in dirty diapers for hours or days, crying out for help.

Meanwhile, several groups called on Ontario’s Human Rights Commission to "conduct a formal investigation into systemic discrimination in healthcare provision in Ontario against elderly people based on age."