Instead, I’ve been the daughter advocating for my elderly father and, frankly, it’s been really tough. I am not only Herbie’s daughter — I am his legally appointed representative by virtue of a Representation Agreement on the authority of the B.C. Representation Agreement Act. I’ve been calling into question practices such as medicating, basic care and care inconsistencies. I have repeatedly asked to be included in decisions made about and for my father and have been striving to maintain consistency for him. I have learned to be his caregiver, and before Covid-19, my husband and I were his consistent one-on-one caregivers within the facility.

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I can’t stay silent about this any longer. I am deeply worried about our vulnerable seniors in long-term care facilities. Family members have been entrusted by seniors to be their advocates, and they need us to be heard, but we're not!

Family advocates/caregivers and legal representatives are being denied essential visitor access to provide essential care. Family representatives have also been denied their legal right to care for, to provide oversight and to protect from harm our seniors.

Seniors living in long-term care cannot protect themselves; they need their advocates and representatives to be their voices. No long-term care facility should have the right to remove this care, oversight, and legal duty of care for any reason, especially during Covid-19.

The draconian measures imposed to protect seniors from infection should never have been imposed without residents and families having a say.  Care homes are supposed to be homes, not prisons.