Canada’s prime minister is hinting that provincial governments that don’t work with Ottawa to improve standards in long term care homes won’t get federal funding.

And Justin Trudeau says his government will happily partner with provinces and territories that want to boost standards in long term care facilities, and cover the costs of those improvements.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed deplorable conditions in some long term care homes, particularly in Quebec and here in Ontario.

Residents of long term care facilites acccounted for more than 80 percent of the COVID-19 related deaths in Canada.

The Zoomer’s advocacy group CARP has been calling for Premier Doug Ford to fire his long term care minister, Merrilee Fullerton for failing to protect nursing home residents during the second wave.