Huronia Regional Centre

Huronia Regional Centre
Geography
Location	Orillia, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates	44.5798°N 79.4283°W / 44.5798; -79.4283
Organization
Type	Specialist
Services
Speciality	Hospital school for developmentally disabled children
History
Former name(s)	Ontario Hospital School, Orillia; Orillia Asylum for Idiots
Links
Lists	Hospitals in Canada

The Huronia Regional Centre (previously the Ontario Hospital School, Orillia, and initially the Orillia Asylum for Idiots) was an institution for developmentally disabled people operated by the government of Ontario, Canada between 1876 and 2009.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} After the closing of the school, and prompted by a class-action lawsuit, the government apologized for decades of neglectful abuse of the facility's residents and paid a settlement to surviving victims.^[4][6]

The Ontario Hospital School, Orillia served Central Ontario, including the Counties of Halton, Peel, York, Ontario, Simcoe and the Districts of Muskoka and Parry Sound.^[7]: 35

Facilities

In 1859, the Ontario government established a branch of the Toronto-based Provincial Lunatic Asylum in Orillia, modifying a hotel to suit this purpose.^[7]: 27 Within a few years, the facility was closed down due to disrepair, but due to increasing demand for residential mental health services, it was reconditioned and reopened in 1876, this time as a newly independent "Hospital for Idiots and Imbeciles"—specifically children.^{[7]: 27–28}

In 1885, the hotel building was becoming overcrowded, and it was replaced by a new property on the shore of Lake Simcoe.^[7]: 28 The new main building and two three-storey "cottages" were augmented by several additional buildings built around 1915 and 1932.^{[1][7]: 28 [8]} By the time of its closure on March 31, 2009, it was configured with individual apartments, a canteen, a chapel and a therapeutic swimming pool.^[8] With the purchase of adjacent lands in 1911, the facility stood on a 1.8 km² plot and included a farm.^[7]: 28

The main building in 1909

When Toronto Star columnist Pierre Berton visited the Ontario Hospital School in 1960, he reported dilapidation and gross overcrowding—2808 residents occupying spaces that could hardly contain a thousand fewer, with sleeping quarters installed in repurposed classrooms, playrooms and therapy rooms.^[1] Washroom facilities were also insufficient—on one floor, 144 patients shared 8 toilets, 3 showers and 1 bathtub—and Berton observed that "[p]risoners in reformatories have better facilities."^[1] 900 of the higher-functioning patients were housed in the oldest and least fire-resistant buildings, because they were judged most able to flee in case of evacuation.^[1] Despite these glaring flaws, Berton also noted that "[i]n many respects it [was] an up-to-date institution with a dedicated staff fighting an uphill battle against despairing conditions."^[1]

Later in its existence, the Huronia Regional Centre was home to considerably fewer residents. In April 1971, the daily average resident population was 1857;^[7]: 36 in 1975, the population of 1812 was composed of 1216 males and 596 females;^[9]: 46 in 1996, 583 people lived there; and by 2004, fewer than 350 remained.^[5] The residents also tended to be considerably older—49 years of age, on average, in 2004.^[5]

The institutional cemetery is located in a field across from the Centre.^[4] There are about 1440 unmarked graves and 571 numbered graves located there; the last burial took place in 1971, and several numbered markers were removed during paving in the 1970s.^[4][10] The use of sequential numbers rather than names was purportedly to protect the privacy of those interred there.^[6] An organization called Remember Every Name was working with the Ministry of Community and Social Services to mark or otherwise memorialize the graves.^[6]

The Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure solicited suggestions for the future use of the site.^[11] In 2014, the Huronia Cultural Campus Foundation proposed that the main building be redeveloped into an arts centre, while some former residents insisted that it be demolished.^[11] In the meantime, the Ontario Provincial Police and courts used some buildings on the site for other purposes.^[11]

Admissions

Despite the overcrowding, in 1960, there was a waiting list of 4000 children waiting to be housed in the institution—and while the hospital admitted 3 new patients per day, patients were leaving (by discharge or death) at less than half that rate.^[1] The new branch of the Ontario Hospital School at Cedar Springs in Chatham-Kent (later known as the Southwestern Regional Centre) was unable to keep up with that demand, much less house the entire population for long enough to repair and renovate the Orillia complex.^[1]

Prior to the 1970s, admissions to Ontario residential mental health facilities were frequently dictated by members of the Ontario Legislature and their staffs, acting upon constituents' requests.^[7]: 30 By 1971, this problem had been overcome with the introduction of a priority rating scale intended to ensure that the admissions process was based upon need rather than political pressure.^[7]: 32

Programs and services

Walter Williston's 1971 report calculated that the ward staff of 653 was 257 too few, based on American Association for Mental Deficiency standards.^[7]: 36 Berton also remarked that the facility was understaffed, and that it was admitting numerous patients younger than 6 years of age—for whom it was not designed or originally intended.^[1]

Beginning in 1989, Judy Richardson, an occupational therapist at the Centre, conducted an art class for some of its residents. She collected whatever artwork the students did not keep for themselves—making notes about authorship and subject matter on the reverse—and kept the works at her Orillia home.^[12] After her death, her husband bequeathed 200 of these works to the Creative Spirit Art Centre on the condition that they never be sold.^[12] They were displayed in 2013 at the Creative Spirit Art Centre in Toronto in an exhibit called "Breaking out of Huronia".^[13]

Allegations of abuse by staff

In 2010, several former residents of the Centre, together with litigation guardians Marilyn and Jim Dolmage, sued the government of Ontario, alleging that the hospital staff perpetrated systemic physical, sexual and emotional abuse against the children between 1945 and 2009.^{[3][4][14][15][16][17]} Marilyn Dolmage's affidavit "described residents being kept in caged cots, having all their teeth removed for safety reasons and being held upside down with their heads under running water as punishment for not eating."^[18] Others alleged "routine beatings, degrading treatment and the frequent use of psychotropic drugs to manage behaviour."^[18]

The Ontario government denied that the abuse was systemic or neglectful, but acknowledged isolated instances of abuse.^[3] The Centre had previously been a subject of Walter Williston's "scathing government-commissioned report" in 1971,^[5][13] a government inquest in 1976,^[5][13] and numerous newspaper investigations.^[13]

The suit (Dolmage v. The Queen) was certified by the Ontario Superior Court as a class action representing 5000 former residents of the facility.^{[16][18][19][Note 1]} The plaintiffs, represented by Kirk Baert of Koskie Minsky LLP, sought Can$1 billion in general damages and an additional Can$1 billion in punitive damages, plus interest and legal costs.^[4][16][19] The trial court was to determine whether systemic negligence and breaches of fiduciary, statutory and common law duty took place, and whether the Department of Health allowed conditions to deteriorate below the standard of care in place at the time.^[1][3][16] Additionally, the court was to decide whether the aggregate damages provisions of the Class Proceedings Act were applicable.^[16]

After the parties agreed to a daylong delay to the beginning of the trial, they announced a settlement for Can$35 million, a formal apology and other concessions.^{[4][15][Note 2]} The settlement was approved by the Ontario Superior Court on December 3, 2013.^[17]

On December 9, 2013, Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne publicly apologized on the floor of the legislature, saying "I am sorry for what you and your loved ones experienced, and for the pain that you carry to this day", noting that "some residents suffered neglect and abuse within the very system that was meant to provide them care".^[17] Marilyn Dolmage found the apology to be "very sincere", as did some former residents in attendance.^[17] Minority party leaders Tim Hudak and Andrea Horwath also apologized; some former Huronia residents considered this important because abuse took place while Liberal, PC and NDP governments were in power.^[17]

In 2022, filmmaker Barri Cohen, who had two older brothers die at the institution in childhood, released the documentary film Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children.^[22]

See also

• Southwestern Regional Centre
• Rideau Regional Centre

Notes

1. It was the first class action to be certified against an Ontario government psychiatric facility.^[5][18][19]
2. Settlement terms—subject to judicial approval by December 16, 2013—included a Can$35 million fund from which to draw compensation (of up to Can$42000 per victim) and legal fees, a formal apology by the government addressed to all past residents of the facility, a commemorative plaque, maintenance of the site's cemetery and establishment of a burial registry (using records preserved by the government), and the release of 65000 related government records, police reports, eyewitness accounts and pieces of correspondence.^[4][20] These documents will be made available for scholarly research, which the editors of the Toronto Star considered "a significant step toward transparency".^[21]

References

1. Berton, Pierre (January 6, 1960), "Huronia: Pierre Berton warned us 50 years ago", Toronto Star website (reprinted; originally entitled "What’s wrong at Orillia: Out of sight, out of mind"), Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar (published September 20, 2013), ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 22, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, But Orillia's real problem is one of public neglect. It is easier to appropriate funds for spectacular public projects such as highways and airports than for living space for tiny tots with clouded minds. Do not blame the present Department of Health for Orillia's condition. Blame yourself.
2. Goar, Carol (September 9, 2013), "Ontario allowed decades of child abuse: Goar", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 28, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, He intends to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the Ontario government knew about the physical, sexual and emotional abuse of these vulnerable youngsters and did nothing to stop it.
3. Loriggio, Paola (September 16, 2013), "Huronia Regional Centre: Class-action lawsuit set to begin over alleged abuse", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 21, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, Slark, Seth and thousands of other former residents are alleging systemic neglect and abuse at the Orillia, Ont., facility, which the province operated for 133 years. Some say they were forced to work in the fields for no money.
4. Mendleson, Rachel (September 17, 2013), "Huronia institution cemetery a painful reminder of neglect and abuse", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 20, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, Most of the 2,000 children and adults buried in the unkempt field across from Huronia Regional Centre were laid to rest in unmarked graves.
5. Marlin, Beth (July 26, 2010), "A chance for Huronia's 'invisible' to be seen and heard", The Globe and Mail website, Toronto, ON, Canada: The Globe and Mail, ISSN 0319-0714, OCLC 61312660, archived from the original on October 1, 2013, retrieved September 24, 2013, On Wednesday, Mr. Justice Maurice Cullity, who issued a ruling in April giving the case the conditional go-ahead as a class action, is expected to formally certify the lawsuit. It's the first time the courts have allowed a class-action lawsuit against a government-operated residential institution for the developmentally disabled in Ontario and, if it goes to trial, a first in Canada.
6. Alamenciak, Tim (December 29, 2014), "Remembering the dead at Huronia Regional Centre", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on May 12, 2018, retrieved May 12, 2018, Remember Every Name is considering two options: One would be to have each individual grave properly marked, but the quality of records may make this difficult. The other option proposes placing an obelisk at the end of each row, with the names of people buried in that row.
7. Williston, Walter B. (August 15, 1971), Present Arrangements for the Care and Supervision of Mentally Retarded Persons in Ontario (PDF), retrieved October 21, 2013, The Ontario Hospital School in Orillia is now the regional hospital school for the Central Ontario planning area. Its catchment admission area covers the Counties of Halton, Peel, York, Ontario, Simcoe, Muskoka and Parry Sound.
8. Goar, Carol (August 4, 2010), "Goar: Former residents of mental asylum seek justice", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 28, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, If this case goes to trial, it will set a legal precedent. The courts have never allowed a collective lawsuit against a government-operated psychiatric facility. Ontario ran 16 such institutions. (They are all closed now.)
9. Perry, Edgar; Chaudhary, Rabindra K.; Cleary, T. Emmett; Roughley, F. R. (January 11, 1975), "Hepatitis B surface antigen and its subtypes in an institution for the mentally retarded", Canadian Medical Association Journal, 112 (1), Canadian Medical Association: 46–48, ISSN 0820-3946, OCLC 12748813, PMC 1956009, PMID 122813, Huronia Regional Centre has 1812 residents, 1216 males and 596 females.
10. Oved, Marco Chown; Alamenciak, Tim (October 14, 2013), "Huronia's Child 1751 lies unremembered no more: Map reveals unmarked grave", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on October 16, 2013, retrieved February 19, 2021, Many of those who died at the institution were buried with numbered markers to protect the privacy of their families. When the stones were removed to pave a path to a nearby group home sometime in the 1970s, the graves went from unnamed to unmarked altogether.
11. Battersby, Sara-Joyce (May 2, 2016), "Former residents feel walled out of Huronia's future", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on May 12, 2018, retrieved May 12, 2018, A spokesperson for the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure wrote in an emailed statement that it will hold consultations on the site's future this year, inviting input from the community and former residents.
12. Dempsey, Amy (June 14, 2013), "Huronia institution art brings back family memories of woman who inspired it", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 28, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, Richardson ran the program until she became ill, and collected the artwork — every scrap of it, minus what the artists themselves and a few others held onto — and stuffed it into giant folders at her home in Orillia.
13. Dempsey, Amy (June 6, 2013), "Mystery woman behind collection of art from Huronia centre for developmentally disabled", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 28, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, When Richardson died more than a decade ago, she left behind a 200-piece collection of paintings and drawings produced by her students at the Huronia Regional Centre, as the institution was later renamed
14. Tyler, Tracey (March 2, 2010), "Former Huronia residents allege abuse", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 28, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, Callaghan describes the experience as an example of abuse he says he suffered during a decade as a "patient" at the Orillia residence, which was run by the Ontario government and home to more than 3,000 developmentally disabled children and adults from 1876 until last year.
15. Mendleson, Rachel (September 16, 2013), "Huronia lawsuit against Ontario government delayed without explanation", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 21, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, Without explanation or warning to some of the plaintiffs, the $1 billion lawsuit over allegations of physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the facility for developmentally disabled children in Orillia, Ont., was adjourned until Tuesday, prompting concern among victims that their stories might never be heard.
16. Melnitzer, Julius (August 19, 2013), "$2-billion class action to test applicability of aggregate damages to fiduciary duty cases", National Post website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Postmedia Network, ISSN 1486-8008, OCLC 300046139, archived from the original on September 28, 2013, retrieved September 24, 2013, Dolmage v. The Queen is a class action against the Province of Ontario in respect of the Huronia Regional Centre, which provided a residential program for mentally challenged and disabled persons.
17. Alamenciak, Tim (December 9, 2013), "Premier Kathleen Wynne, two other party leaders, apologize to Huronia survivors", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on October 4, 2017, retrieved May 12, 2018, In her apology, Wynne acknowledged not only survivors of Huronia Regional Centre but also Southwestern Regional Centre and Rideau Regional Centre, two similar institutions that are currently the subjects of class-action lawsuits before the courts.
18. Marlin, Beth (July 28, 2010), "Judge certifies $1-billion class-action suit over Huronia institution", The Globe and Mail website, Toronto, ON, Canada: The Globe and Mail, ISSN 0319-0714, OCLC 61312660, archived from the original on October 1, 2013, retrieved September 24, 2013, Mr. Justice Maurice Cullity has formally certified a $1-billion class-action lawsuit against the provincial government alleging systemic abuse and neglect of former residents of Ontario's largest ever institution for people with developmental disabilities.
19. Goar, Carol (June 7, 2013), "Ugly secret of Ontario psychiatric hospitals won't stay hidden: Goar", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 28, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, Their names are Patricia Seth and Marie Slark. They are the lead plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit representing 5,000 former residents of Huronia. Their lawyer, Kirk Baert of Koskie Minsky LLP, is seeking $2 billion from the Ontario government for "failing to properly care for and protect those in its care."
20. Alamenciak, Tim; Oved, Marco Chown (September 18, 2013), "Government holds key to unmarked Huronia graves", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 28, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, In a legal settlement reached this week with surviving former residents of Huronia Regional Centre, Ontario promised to do a better job of honouring the memory of about 2,000 who died there, including compiling a registry of their names.
21. "Ontario is right to finally admit it failed developmentally delayed kids: Editorial", Toronto Star website, Toronto, ON, Canada: Torstar, September 18, 2013, ISSN 0319-0781, OCLC 60656984, archived from the original on September 22, 2013, retrieved September 22, 2013, As the case went to court this week, the government's decision to settle was generally greeted as good news by former residents who were abused as children in the Orillia institution.
22. Lila Sarick, "Filmmaker tells a deeply personal tale about the suffering of children at Huronia Regional Centre". Canadian Jewish News, May 2, 2022.