Former residents of the Midwestern Regional Centre near Palmerston, which closed nearly two decades ago, are among those who will receive compensation for mistreatment at provincial facilities for the developmentally disabled.
The Superior Court of Justice announced on April 27 that it has approved a $36-million settlement agreement reached last November.
The settlement will provide compensation to individuals “who suffered harm” between the 1960s and 1990s while living at 12 former institutions for people with developmental disabilities.
The Midwestern Regional Centre a large complex on a 164-acre property located on Highway 23 between Palmerston and Listowel, operated between Sept. 1, 1963 and March 31, 1998.
It was one of 12 facilities shut down between 1977 and 1999 in accordance with a government decision to close institutions and move people with developmental disabilities to homes in the community with appropriate supports and services.
After the closure, the property largely sat idle until 2006, when it became the short-lived Village Green Lifestyle Community, which later went bankrupt.
In 2010, the Cham Shan Temple, a Buddhist organization based in Thornhill, purchased the property, which is located in North Perth. Media reports at the time indicated construction of a Buddhist temple at the property was planned.
Diane Chen, property development and special projects manager for the Cham Shan Temple, told the Advertiser in a telephone interview the project to convert the facility to a “meditation retreat” is “ongoing.”
She noted the temple relies on donations for all its funding and twice in the past five years the group “thought we had it renovated decently so we could start enjoying it,” when roof problems caused damage to the renovated interior.
“We had to start over,” Chen said, adding the plan remains to create a meditation centre by renovating the property “bit by bit.
“It’s an ideal location for it, because it’s quiet … it’s peaceful and there’s lots of nice land where people can go and meditate without being disturbed. But it’s an ongoing battle to try and bring it up to standard.”
The legal settlement announced last week is the result of a class action lawsuit brought against Ontario by former residents of the facilities.
The claims administrator, Crawford Class Action Services, is informing eligible former residents about the process to apply for compensation. They can receive a free copy of their resident files by emailing AccessandPrivacyOffice.mcss@ontario.ca or calling 1-855-376-9886. Eligible former residents have four months to request their files.
The other 11 former facilities, and time periods to which the agreement applies, are:
– Adult Occupational Centre (Edgar) – 1966 to 1999;
– Bluewater Centre (Goderich) – 1976 to 1983;
– D’Arcy Place (Cobourg) – 1963 to 1996;
– Durham Centre for the Developmentally Handicapped (Whitby) – 1974 to 1986;
– L.S. Penrose Centre (Kingston) – 1974 to 1977;
– Muskoka Centre (Gravenhurst) – 1973 to 1993;
– Northwestern Regional Centre (Thunder Bay) – 1974 to 1994;
– Oxford Regional Centre (Woodstock) – 1974 to 1996 or in the “Mental Retardation Unit” – 1969 to 1974;
– Pine Ridge (Aurora) – 1963 to 1984;
– Prince Edward Heights (Picton) – 1971 to 1999; and
– St. Lawrence Regional Centre (Brockville) – 1975 to 1983.
