Despite ongoing efforts to reunite a 93-year-old London couple under one roof, the pair continues to live across town from each other.
As the family of Everett and Simone Price are struggling with red tape, London-West NDP MPP Peggy Sattler brought the issue to Queen’s Park on Thursday.
She says “The emotional impact of this forced separation is taking its toll on the 93-year-old couple.”
The couple has been living apart for almost a year, with Everett at the Longworth Retirement Village and his wife Simone, who needs nursing care, across town at the Chelsey Park Retirement Community.
Sattler didn’t mince word when she demanded more action from the provincial government to resolve the issue saying “This isn’t the way a seven-decade love story is supposed to end in Ontario.”
Marilyn Savage, the couple’s daughter, is also upset by the lack of progress in finding a solution.
“The two of them are quite anxious about the whole thing…It makes my sisters and I feel very frustrated at the government’s lack of action to help reunite them.”
Deputy Premier Brad Duguid says “”We understand the challenge, Mr. Speaker, when a couple is separated and we’ve all as members in this legislature, have seen this in our own constituency offices.”
But Savage isn’t satisfied with the government’s response, saying the legislation referenced that helps reunite married couples only refers to situations where both are in long-term care.
Currently, Everett is in a retirement home while only Simone is in long-term care.
And with her parents’ health concerns, Savage is worried that if nothing happens soon, time may run out for them to be together.
“My mother sometimes gets very, very anxious. I’m sure that this situation contributes to her state of anxiety. She’s very like ‘When is it going to happen? Why is it taking so long?’”
