Editor:

Kamloops Senior Village, one of the facilities recently sold to the Chinese company Anbang despite province-wide protest, are making the cost cutting changes that we were all so afraid of. Government reports showed that this facility was not meeting the standard of 3.36 care hours per resident per day, even before the Anbang buyout. And now, under the new ownership, they are cutting their care hours by 75 hours per week. This is being done despite the fact that currently, residents are not being given a bath at least once a week due to a lack of staff.

According to the Health Ministry’s new action plan for seniors, an agreement was to be incorporated between the Ministry and the Health Authorities to ensure that all facilities would comply with an increase in staffing levels when necessary to meet standards. This agreement was to be implemented by April, 2017. Did the ministry fail to meet the timeline, or has IHA failed to honour this agreement?

Now that Anbang is making the move to cut care hours, there can be little doubt that they will use their right to protest any new regulation that “undermines their investment” by appealing to the Foreign Investment Protection Agency (FIPA). And considering how popular Chinese investment in Canada has become, how do you think FIPA will rule? Will they protect our seniors, or foreign investment? This uncertainty that puts our seniors at risk is the very reason why so many B.C. residents protested this takeover.

Judy Galley

Sorrento, B.C.