​Long-Term Care in New Brunswick: The Advocate weighs in on progress

On March 13, 2024, Kelly Lamrock, the New Brunswick Child, Youth and Seniors Advocate presented his report “What We All Want” to media, the legislature, and the public.  While there have been many reports in the last 20 years on long-term care, there had not been an analysis as thorough and detailed as he had in his report.  His report represented what he referred to as a “deep dive” into long term care and is issues.  He had heard from many people across the province and dozens of interest and advocacy groups.

He did not want it to be shallow and just one more in a stack of such reports that takes up shelf space in offices.  He wanted it to be a meaningful work in order to identify issues that require resolution so that the province could develop a truly integrated and effective long-term care system.  Such plans have been common in other provinces but not New Brunswick.

With 200 pages and 60 recommendations it represents quite a read; not exactly a simple document for quick perusal.  But it covered the waterfront and included many themes that were familiar to leaders in the long-term care sector.  And there were some new issues that interested persons and advocacy groups may not have contemplated.

The report did well to highlight the issues in long term care that are represented by First Nations Communities as well as Adults with learning and intellectual challenges.  When asked by a reporter in March 2024 why he, when he was Minister well over a decade ago, had not dealt with these issues during his term he remarked that despite the great briefing that Ministers receive, Ministers would not normally be briefed on the level of detail that he had discovered in this study.  In preparing this report he had access to representations and material well in excess of what is normally in the hands of elected officials or civil servants.

He was absolutely correct.  In my advocacy I have enjoyed great relationships with Ministers but in all the years I have been developing those relationships, there has not once been an opportunity to get sufficient time with a Minister or Deputy, except with Dr. Dornan, in order to ensure that they had a thorough understanding of the matters I was representing.

That is not a criticism; it is simply the way it works and has worked for generations.  Health and Long-Term Care are very complex organizational systems in which serious understanding does not lend itself to brief interactions, however pleasant they may be.

Historically these reports get completed, introduced to the public and the legislature and are left in the hands of the affected department to follow up.  Sometimes interested people may hear snippets of progress in a report of a legislative committee or a Ministerial statement in the legislature.

Ever the determined Advocate, Lamrock has taken a different route and as one who has a keen interest in the issues of Health and Long-Term Care, he has my respect for taking what seems like a novel approach.
I presume that the Advocate has had multiple meetings with senior executives in the Department of Social Development.  And these are terrific people who, I am certain, would have been taking this report very seriously.

On Wednesday, October 1, 2025 the Advocate and his very impressive team convened a session at Kinsella Hall for the purpose of his presentation to those in attendance and, therefore, to the public of his 20-page report on what he believes to be the status of progress on the many recommendations from his report.  Breaking from a lot of past practice, he committed, when his report was published in 2024 that his office would be monitoring progress.  He was determined that as the Advocate, he would do all that he could do to stay on top of this report, thus helping to give the public some assurance that this would not be “just another report.”

Those in attendance included the Minister of Social Development, Minister of Seniors, and the Minister of Health in addition to some senior civil servants, representatives of advocacy groups, and STU students.

We heard of progress being reported on several of the recommendations sufficient to create a sense of some momentum.  The key issues of legislation and Alternate Level of Care patients were reported by the Department of Social Development as “in progress”.

In addition to the presentation by the Advocate, attendees heard from Dr. Samir Sinha who is a national figure in Geriatric Medicine, a leader in the treatment and services for long-term care patients, and Director of Policy Research at the National Institute on Aging.  Instead of repeating the Aging in Place mantra that others use so often, he underscored Aging in the Right Place and in doing that opened up a lot of inspiring discussion about the potential to serve persons requiring long term care without first thinking of facilities.

Dr. Laura Tamblyn Wells, CEO of CanAge, presented a highly-motivational series of ideas and initiatives that should be on the agenda of senior care in NB such as improved vaccination performance.  She was very articulate on themes of healthy aging and strategies that need not break the bank of government.  She introduced a level of discussion and awareness for the audience that would be new for many.

The session also included a Panel consisting of Prof. Janet Durkee-Lloyd of the Gerontology Faculty at STU, Daniel Soucy, Program Advisor of InclusionNB, and myself.  In the discussion we dealt with the roadblocks to progress, the need for picking up the pace of change, the importance of getting a plan that will respond to all groups impacted by long term care issues, not just aging.

To the Advocate’s question of what could happen even in a year, reference was made to several issues that represent “low hanging apples” or initiatives that could go forward soon without public push-back.  Matters such as legislation overhaul, regulatory re-structuring, education at several levels, and standardized training programs, and the ever-present ALC crisis are just a few that came up in discussions.

It was a good day and I salute the Advocate’s office for keeping long-term care reform on the agenda.  It would be my hope that those in attendance, and our public service people in particular, could see that there is so much potential, that New Brunswick is small and nimble enough that we could be a model for the country.  But other provinces seem to be moving with more determination.  There is power in momentum and there seems to be, as the Advocates’ report suggests, some momentum.  This is the time to capitalize on that and get essential changes initiated and completed.

Hopefully, there is a realization that much of what needs to be done does not have to be done personally by civil servants and politicians.  Nor does all essential change require increase in the provincial deficit.  Theirs is to create the appropriate legislative framework, develop accountability and regulatory processes then empower the willing and informed. 

Ken McGeorge,BS,DHA,CHE is a retired career health care CEO, part time consultant, and columnist with Brunswick News; he is the author of Health Care Reform in New Brunswick and may be reached at [email protected] or www.kenmcgeorge.com