Editor:
Thank you for your coverage of the ongoing Trellis saga in last week’s Coast Reporter, and for the weekly question to your readers – “Should the government abandon the Trellis deal?” Before anybody submits an answer, they should watch the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, a rather dark comedy about women in prison. One of the plot lines concerns the privatizing of the prison. All the bugbears are addressed – inferior quality food, program cuts, hard mattresses, poorly paid and poorly trained staff. Of course, it is all outrageous and only meant to entertain, but if we replaced those orange-clad women with our frail elderly, it would not be so funny.
What really hit home for me were the people placed in charge. Their focus was profit, to the exclusion of all else. What went on in the prison was left to the poorly trained and incompetent staff. Spoiler alert – the convicts rioted! Not much chance of that with our grannies and grandpas. Once the Trellis deal goes through, they’re stuck with whatever care, whatever caregivers, whatever programs – or lack thereof – that Trellis deems appropriate. There’s not a lot of accountability in the private sector. Think about this! As citizens and taxpayers, we do have a say about the model of care provided in this province. And we need to speak for those who no longer can speak for themselves.
Send a message to your MLA and the Health Minister.
Marilynn Green, Gibsons
