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News Article - December 12, 2005
By IAN SUTTON
Monday, December 12, 2005 Page A1
OTTAWA -- Toni Jeffrey loves her sister Frances. She just wouldn't want her living next door.
For the past 44 years, home for Frances has been the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia, Ont., where her sister visits once
a month.
It is one of three provincial facilities that house about 1,000 severely developmentally disabled Ontarians, many of whom
have lived there most of their lives. The provincial government -- over objections from relatives of people like Frances --
intends to move the residents into group homes and other community facilities and shut down all three centres by 2009.
That plan has prompted a dispute that moves today to an Ottawa courtroom. Class-action lawsuits were launched this year
by families of residents at the Huronia Centre and the Rideau Regional Centre at Smiths Falls. Relatives of residents at the
Southwestern Regional Centre near Chatham also object to the plan to close the facilities.
In September, Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Smith refused to issue an injunction that would have blocked the
removal of more residents from the Smiths Falls and Orillia centres. But he imposed a 90-day stay on further removals
pending the judicial review that is set to begin today in Ottawa.
About 5,000 developmentally disabled Ontario residents have been moved from regional centres into community facilities
and services over the past 25 years.
The 1,000 remaining at the three centres are among the oldest: some are in their 60s, 70s and 80s. Others are profoundly
low functioning, or without family members, or with serious behavioural problems. Many have lived in the facilities for 50
years or more.
Lack of community facilities to take in these long-term residents is one concern of the families. According to a report by the
Metro Agencies Representatives Council, which represents organizations that provide developmental services, 6,000
developmentally disabled Ontarians are already waiting to be admitted to group homes or other community facilities.
The judicial review by three Divisional Court justices will focus on whether the province has authority under the
Developmental Services Act to close the regional centres, said Brenda Hollingsworth, an Ottawa lawyer acting for about 150
families of residents at Rideau Regional Centre. Present legislation authorizes the province only to operate and maintain
such centres, she said.
"There's a lot of things you're allowed to do, but you're not allowed to close it. What we're saying is they'd have to pass new
legislation, and you can't do that without going to the legislature," she said.
The judges also will be asked to rule on whether plans to close the regional centres deny residents their right to judicial
process and whether they are being discriminated against because of their mental incapacity.
The Ministry of Community and Social Services won't comment on the issue pending the judicial review.
Toni Jeffrey said that if facilities like Huronia are closed, her sister will become "a prisoner in a group home."
She doesn't question the value of community programs for Ontario's mentally disabled residents. In fact, she is employed at
a community centre in Mississauga where, she said, "it warms my heart" to work with developmentally disabled clients
there. But her sister just wouldn't fit in.
"She is, basically, an infant in an adult body," the Mississauga woman said of her 49-year-old sibling, who has lived for 44
years in a provincial facility. "She functions at less than a two-year-old level."
Two retired psychologists formerly employed at Rideau Regional and Huronia have filed affidavits with the court in which
they contend the residents lack the cognitive and legal capacity to provide the informed consent required by law for their
relocation.
"These men and women have developed long-standing bonds with staff and their peers and have enjoyed tremendous
freedom of movement and security because of the size and opportunities presented by the therapeutic community," Dr.
Joseph Molino said in his submission. He agrees with community-based residences and services for those who wish to live
in "properly supported settings," but said group homes are not appropriate for every developmentally disabled person.
The province has announced plans to spend $192-million over four years for community supports and new facilities.
But those improvements aren't yet in place and thousands are on waiting lists for accommodation in group homes and
other facilities or for transportation access to services, said Steve Sanderson, president of the Ottawa District Council of
the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
The community agency he works for -- Ottawa's largest -- is operating at a deficit and has already shut down one nine-bed
residence because of funding and staff cuts, he said.
"I work in the community and I believe community things can happen, but you need the resources and they're not there.
The agencies are dying the death of a thousand cuts."
It's nearly impossible to explain to the average person what the needs are for someone like her sister, Ms. Jeffrey said.
Frances has an obsessive-compulsive disorder. She hasn't worn shoes in six years, she turns her clothes inside out and
half the time she remains naked. She eats non-stop and will ingest "absolutely anything" (a condition known as pica).
In the 1970s, her parents arranged for Frances to move to a facility in Oakville, where her behaviour became progressively
worse. She was on "colossal doses" of medication, almost died and had to be returned in 1980 to the Huronia Centre,
where she has lived ever since.
In August, Ms. Jeffrey was called by a doctor at Huronia. Frances was out of control and he needed permission to sedate
her. "She was picking up tables and pitching them across the room." Now when her sister "flips out," a nurse, behaviour
therapist, doctor and psychiatrist are called. They in turn call Ms. Jeffrey's home for permission to administer sedation. "It's
all over in 10 minutes," she said.
Ms. Jeffrey recently asked a local community living agency how its staff would respond to a similar outburst. "We'll call 911,
they'll restrain her and take her to the nearest hospital," was the response, Ms. Jeffrey said.
Frances has broken out of restraints in an ambulance before, Ms. Jeffrey said. "She became so upset she broke the
restraints, even though she was semi-sedated. She's incredibly strong . . . 20 men couldn't hold her back if she makes up
her mind to go one way."
"And still these people want to place her in the community. I can guarantee the move will fail again -- but I can also
guarantee this time there will not be a backup plan."