Manitoba's Southern Chiefs Organization says the personal care home system is failing countless elders, including Joe McLeod, and is partly to blame for the death of an 87-year-old senior last month.
"It seems like they are warehousing our elderly people", says Grand Chief Morris Swan Shannacappo. They are not getting the proper care and treatment."
Shannacappo is now echoing calls for an inquiry into the death of 87-year-old Frank Alexander, who was shoved to the ground inside a Winnipeg care home last month and later died of his injuries. Joe McLeod, a 70-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease, was charged with aggravated assault and could now possibly face manslaughter charges.
On Thursday, Alexander's family told the media they don't blame McLeod's Family. They want to see changes in the health care system.
"Our family feels a tremendous amount of guilt over how this happened," says Faye Jashyn, McLeod's daughter. She says much could have been done within the health care system to prevent the tragedy.
"Friends and family can help but they are not medical professionals," Jashyn says. "They can only do so much."
Jashyn says her father was forced to leave his home on Pine Creek First Nation because his condition was getting worse and proper care wasn't available. If he had not left his community some believe the death would have been prevented.
"Joe McLeod had to relocate to Winnipeg and that happens far too often," says Derek Nepinak, chief of the Pine Creek First Nation. He has been lobbying Health Canada to build a long term care facility within Pine Creek for the last decade.
"Our communities don't want to be put in a position where we have to send our elders away to receive specialized care," Nepinak says. "Specialized services that could otherwise be provided in their home community."
-With a report from CTV's Stacey Ashley
