Emmanuel Village Retirement Home

Seniors living in some retirement homes across the region have already been asked to pay exorbitant fees for basic services. Now, retirement homes will be free to ask seniors to pay part of the costs of running an agency devoted to protecting them from abuse, fraud and maltreatment. The government-sponsored, self-financing Ontario Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority is asking retirement homes to pay it $9 plus HST per month ($10.17) for every room they operate. This fee will cover the costs of inspecting facilities and enforcing rules in the Retirement Homes Act of 2010. There is nothing to stop retirement home operators from turning to residents to cover those additional costs, said Mary Beth Valentine, the registrar and chief executive of the Ontario Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority. "We don't have any authority to tell them they can or they cannot pass it on (to seniors)." Emmanuel Village Retirement Home, onWeber Streetin Kitchener, will begin charg…