Long-term care, PSWs, hospital system top election issues for these voters. Here's why

Ahead of the Ontario election, these Windsor-Essex voters say health care is their top priority as they decide who to vote for on June 2.

To have your say, fill out the form at the bottom of this article and tell us your top priorities leading up to the election.

Susan Way, cancer patient

Susan Way, who lives in Wheatley, said she is paying close attention to this election. Way has Stage 4 cancer and said action on health care is pivotal.

"As a general principleit's always going to be important to me because I don't think it's right that people get disadvantaged just because they get sick," she said.

"I don't think they should have a financial disadvantage I don't think they should have differences in treatment. It's just an equitable issue."

This Windsor-Essex cancer patient's top election issue is health care. Here's why

2 years ago

Duration 0:44

Susan Way has Stage 4 cancer. She's worried about the health-care system heading into this provincial election.

Way said she knows her situation is extremebutmany families deal with health issues, which makes it hard for them to get by in life.

She's also concerned about the availability of family doctors in the region, after spending months trying to find one on her own, only to be contacted by a local doctor who tookher on after seeing her story in the media.

Natalia Funkenhauser, PSW

Natalia Funkenhauser,a personal support worker in Windsor,is worried about how people in her line of work are treated.

She calls it a crisis.

"The whole problem is that they're understaffed, underpaid, and nobody wants to go to work knowing they're going to be understaffed," she said.

"I've worked in many different places where it's three PSWs for, oh God, over 20 people. it's insane."

This PSW talks about her top issues heading into the election

2 years ago

Duration 0:32

Natalia Funkenhauser is a personal support worker in the Windsor-Essex region. She talks about her concerns heading into the provincial election.

Funkenhausersaid she does a lot of home care, but sees issues in retirement and long-term care homes.

'When I'm in nursing homes, I always feel really bad for what Isee, when I see that they're short staffed and I see what's expected of them," she said."I think it's so wrong."

Lisa Lum, concerned aboutlong-term care

Lisa Lum's former mother-in-law was a resident of a long-term care home.

"Long-term care is huge," said Lum, sharing it as her top concern in this election.

Lum said the facility where her relative was staying often wasn't equipped to handle the residents' needs.

"Our elderly people deserve to be treated with dignity, and they're just not."

Long-term care is top of mind for this Windsor woman

2 years ago

Duration 0:54

Lisa Lum's ex-mother-in-law was a resident in long-term care. Lum says it's a top election issue for her. Here's why.

Even though she split from her husband, Lum said, shetook her mother-in-law from the home to live with her instead because of the treatment she was receiving.

"It ticks me off to such an extent that that home, that the military came into and identified so many operational issues, and not just because of COVID, and that's a for-profit and Ford gives them this amazing extended lease," she said.

Have your say

What are your top issues heading to the polls on June 2? Fill out the form below and let us know: