Letters

More consultants? More Services Reviews for Children's Services and Long-Term Care Homes and Services

23 May 2012

Local 79 President Tim Maguire asks why this administration seems intent on continuing to pursue the goals of cuts to servies and outsourcing.

Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, Chair, and

Members of the Community Development and Recreation Committee (CDRC)

RE:       CD13.3 Terms of Reference –  Service Review of Children’s Services and Long-Term Care Homes and Services

 On behalf of the front line workers who provide thecare services in child care and long term care, and those who provide supportive services in Children’s Services and Long Term Care Homes and Services, I would like to comment on the call for consultants to conduct yet another review of these valued services.

 The City of Toronto provides benchmark services in child care and long term care- services that other municipalities should aspire to provide.

 The expert panel on early childhood education and child care that reported to the March 27, 2012 meeting of the CDRC emphasized that quality matters and our municipal centres provide the best quality.  One of the experts (Michael Perlman, Ph.D. OISE/UT) concluded saying, “The city of Toronto is running a high quality, accountable system that serves multiple purposes.  It is running the system in an empirically based, fair and cost efficient way.  The city is the national leader in this area.”

Another agenda item today, the report by the Long-Term Care Homes and Services Expert Panel, validates the fact that the City of Toronto care facilities are of the highest quality and uphold a standard of care that far surpasses the minimum required by provincial legislation.  Not only is the care of the highest quality for our frail elderly, but the long term care system serves “diverse and vulnerable populations, including marginalized, low-income and hard to care for individuals”.

 The citizens of Toronto have told City Council, both through the Core Service Review and the 2012 Budget exercise that these services are valued.  The City should be looking at maintaining the standard, and expanding these services that Torontonians need and value, particularly in a time of growing waiting lists.

Yet, this administration seems intent on continuing to pursue the goals of cuts to services and outsourcing.

 According to the Request for Expressions of Interest the whole purpose of these ongoing studies is to continue the Core Service Review objectives, this time, to “support City Council’s 2013 budget deliberations, the City Manager will undertake Service Efficiency Studies of several City divisions, agencies and cross-cutting functions.”

 The following are excerpts from the invitation to consultants in the Requests for Expressions of Interest that are before the Government Management Committee today:

Using the filter of the Core Service Review that was conducted in 2011 the same options are still on the table for the delivery of long term care and child care.

In Long term care:     the transfer nine of the ten municipally operated Long Term Care Homes, or selling off the Homes to the private sector, terminating community-based programs and the transferring of day programs to agencies.

In child care:  once again, the Core Service Review is still part of the service efficiency review with recommendations of transferring the city-operated child care centres to community or private operators, outsourcing support services and reducing funding and subsidies.

When the Core Service Review and 2012 Budget processes commenced, City Council was told there was a $774 million opening budget pressure on the 2012 Operating Budget.  We now know we are in $292 million surplus position from 2011.

I would recommend that the Committee not receive these Requests for Expressions of Interest and save the consultants’ fees for child care and long term care service delivery.

 

 Yours truly,

 Tim Maguire

President