They fought for our freedom and this is how theyre honoured? – Sault Star

If the ravages of COVID-19 in this country havent shocked you enough, perhaps youre asleep at the wheel.

Most deaths have occurred in long-term care homes, the elderly and vulnerable unable to defend themselves against the virus. Quebec has the highest number of casualties while Ontario is not far behind.

The inadequate monetary support from all governments all political parties that have formed those governments over many decades is at the root of the tragedy. Lets be clear: not all these facilities are grossly substandard or in poor shape.

The release of new information from Canadian military personnel who worked in these homes to help with the COVID-19 crisis is absolutely appalling. It is disgusting and inhumane.

Reports of residents being force-fed while lying down, not being taken out of bed for weeks, not being fed, positive COVID-19 cases not isolated, abuse, neglect, the list goes on.

Apparently one death is attributed to force-feeding and choking as a result.

It took the Canadian military to unearth this evil underbelly of some care homes. They were possibly caring for veterans who fought for this country, who are now penned up like the animals in puppy mills.

The operators/owners of these places should be charged and thrown in jail.

Most homes operate to provide the best care possible with the resources they have. But operating with inadequate funding can only lead to the myriad of issues some of these homes are up against.

But the ones that are failing to meet standards have caused Canadas COVID-19 death rate soar. Images of four beds to a room, separated by a curtain, do not fall into even the most basic infection, protection and control protocols.

Its a crime and governments need to regulate and do routine checks on all homes, improve working conditions and pay, then concentrate on building modern facilities.

None of this should come at the expense of the residents these measures are intended to protect. They pay a fortune to stay in these places as it is, so hammering more debt upon them is taking the vulnerable and forcing them into bankruptcy.

These are the people who have paid taxes, worked, raised families, volunteered, and ultimately went to war to save our freedoms from the Nazi occupations. Their brothers died over there; many came back with PTSD as a result of the horrors.

They gave birth to the boomer generation and now we are warehousing them in places we ourselves would likely never consider going to. A blame game should not evolve from this, but instead positive and concrete plans need to be put in place with enough money to make them come into fruition; soon.

The following are some reflections on the Canadians we are housing in these care facilities. They made our life of freedom possible. This is the thanks we give?

May 5, 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands from the Nazi occupation in the Second World War. Most of the Canadians who fought and returned home are in their nineties now and every year there are fewer of them left.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke of the incredible courage of the Canadians and Newfoundlanders who fought and gave their lives to liberate the Netherlands from the tyranny of Nazi Germany.

He went on to say that the surrender of the German forces 75 years ago was accepted by Canada and marked the end of the suffering of the Dutch people from years of unspeakable cruelty, misery and hunger.

January 20, 2020, marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi extermination camp, by the Soviet army. Of the 1.1 million murdered there, most were Jews.

These extermination camps were government sponsored and enforced. Survivors came to the ceremonies from all over the world, the youngest was 75, the oldest 101,and their concern for these killing factories was similar.

They worried about the rise of anti-Semitism in the world and they returned so their memories of the torture they endured was once again fresh and alive. One man said he didnt want the world to get amnesia and forget the Nazi plan to murder on mass, European Jews.

I remember seeing the ceremonies at Auschwitz, the visitors having had to go through the infamous gait, bearing the words, Work will make you free. Their freedom was death.

The looks on their faces was heartbreaking. They were weeping, knowing they would never be back and fearing their suffering and the Holocaust, itself, would become footnotes in history.

Last summer, June 6, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy, or D-Day, was celebrated with many elderly veterans making their way to France.

The Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy and the losses were devastating. There were 14,000 Canadians landing at Juno Beach, and 5,000 died there. It was a very urgent invasion in order to drive back the Nazi occupation.

Indigenous Canadians, First Nations, Inuit and Metis, have been an integral part of every conflict. They celebrate and are proud of their contributions, bravery and recognition. According to Veteran Affairs Canada, thousands enlisted for the First World War, Second World War, the Korean War and many also served with the American military. Women were active on the home front, some enlisting.

In many instances during the conflicts, and certainly after in peacetime, they were not treated equally as far as benefits supposedly available to all veterans. Some struggled to repatriate. R. Scott Sheffield wrote in an article that appeared in the Canadian Encyclopedia that many found return to societal racism and marginalization hard, especially after the acceptance they had in uniform.

A Veteran Affairs website article published in February describes the exemplary second to none service black Canadians gave during the worlds major conflicts. The Second World War saw a considerable increase in their enlistment numbers.

They fought side by side with their white counterparts and, on the home-front worked in factories. However, many found the return to societal racism and marginalization hard after the acceptance they had while in uniform.

But many immigrants to Canada, before and after both world wars, particularly Japanese, Germans, Italians and Ukrainians, were treated as criminals. They were discriminated against, arrested, detained, deported, incarcerated and had their properties and belongings sold because of their ethnicity. They were considered internal enemies and a threat to their own country.

Former prime minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau said in 1969 that, We must never forget in the long run; a democracy is judged by the way the majority treats the minority.

So, 51 years later, many of these Canadians have died or are in care homes.

We can thank COVID-19 for nothing. It has ravaged the globe, but it did expose the challenges elder care homes are up against. First and foremost, it has revealed the conditions many of the residents of these homes endure as a normal way of life.

It is believed that a society is judged on how it cares for its elders. We have failed. The irony is years in the making and the solution should be based on productive and swift action by all levels of government.

Leave the blame game behind because it will only waste precious time.

Patricia Baker is a Sault Star district correspondent

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They fought for our freedom and this is how theyre honoured? - Sault Star