Schedule 1 Class Action Claims Period Has Started

The Court has approved the settlement in Clegg v. Ontario, the Schedule 1 class action lawsuit. You may be able to get money from the settlement if you send in a claim form by February 28, 2017. Please read below for more information about the settlement and how to get help with your claim.

What is the lawsuit about?

The lawsuit is about 12 Schedule 1 facilities or institutions where many people with disabilities were neglected and abused. The government of Ontario was in charge of these places.

What are Schedule 1 institutions?

Many people with disabilities lived at Schedule 1 institutions. The law about these places was called the Developmental Services Act. The names of these places were written in a part of that law called Schedule 1.

The Developmental Services Act has now been replaced by a new law. This new law is called the Services and Supports to Promote the Social Inclusion of Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act.

There were many Schedule 1 institutions, but only 12 of them are in the Clegg v. Ontario settlement. If you lived at one of these 12 institutions, you may be able to ask for money from the settlement.

Which institutions are in the settlement?

Please read below for a list of institutions that are in the settlement. If you lived somewhere on the list, check the dates beside the name of the place where you lived. If you lived there between those dates, then you may be able to get money from the settlement.

  • St. Lawrence Regional Centre in Brockville between April 1, 1975 and June 30, 1983
  • D’Arcy Place in Cobourg between September 1, 1963 and December 31, 1996
  • Adult Occupational Centre in Edgar between January 1, 1966 and March 31, 1999
  • Pine Ridge in Aurora between September 1, 1963 and August 31, 1984
  • Muskoka Centre in Gravenhurst between August 28, 1973 and June 30, 1993
  • Oxford Regional Centre in Woodstock between April 1, 1974 and March 31, 1996 or in the “Mental Retardation Unit” or “MR Unit” of the Oxford Mental Health Centre between January 1, 1969 and March 31, 1974
  • Midwestern Regional Centre in Palmerston between September 1, 1963 and March 31, 1998
  • L.S. Penrose Centre in Kingston between April 1, 1974 and March 31, 1977
  • Bluewater Centre in Goderich between April 1, 1976 and December 20, 1983
  • Durham Centre for Developmentally Handicapped in Whitby between April 1, 1974 and September 28, 1986
  • Prince Edward Heights in Picton between January 1, 1971 and December 31, 1999
  • Northwestern Regional Centre in Thunder Bay between April 1, 1974 and March 31, 1994

How do I ask for money from the settlement?

You need to fill in a Claim Form. You must send the Claim Form to the claims office by February 28, 2017. If you do not send it on time, you will not get any money from the settlement.

Please read below for information on where to get a Claim Form.

When you are filling out the Claim Form, take the time you need to remember and write what happened and to get any papers that help your claim.

It is a good idea to get legal help with your claim.

I lived at more than one place on the list. Can I get more money?

You need to fill out a separate Claim Form for each place where you lived. You may be able to get money for each of those places.

Where can I get a Claim Form? You can get a Claim Form from this website: https://kmlaw.ca/cases/schedule-1-institutions/#claims-forms

The website has different claim forms for each of the 12 institutions. You should use the form with the name of the place where you lived.

Where can I get legal help with my claim?

Some community legal clinics are helping people to make claims. ARCH can tell you if the community legal clinic in your area can help. If not, ARCH can help you.

ARCH can also help if you are not sure if you lived at a place on the list, or if you are not sure you are part of the settlement.

You can call Yedida at ARCH by:

– Phone: 1-866-482-2724

– TTY: 1-866-482-2728

What else can help with my claim?

You can do several things to help your claim:

  • You can ask family, friends, doctors, counsellors and support people or anyone else to write letters about how you are still hurting from what happened during your time at a place on the list of institutions.
  • Did other people see bad things happen to you at one of these places? You can ask them to write what they remember.
  • You should ask for your file from when you lived at a place on the list of institutions. Your file may have important information that can help with your claim. You do not need to pay for your file. Ask for your file by September 27, 2016. If you ask after that date, then you might get it after the deadline to send in your Claim Form. ARCH or your community legal clinic can help you to ask for your file.

Will I lose government services or social assistance if I get settlement money?

You will not lose government services or social assistance if you get settlement money. This settlement is separate from Ontario government services in the community, group homes, or in your own home. It does not affect developmental services, supports or funding from the Ontario government. It does not affect Ontario Disability Support Program money, called ODSP, or Ontario Works money, called OW.

Where can I get more information about the settlement and making a claim?

You can read the short form notice and long form notice for more information.

You can find the short form notice at https://goo.gl/hHJpWL

You can find the long form notice at https://goo.gl/NkoYFF

You can also read the settlement agreement. You can find the settlement agreement on the Koskie Minsky website at https://goo.gl/adXoAJ

And you can call Yedida at ARCH.

You might remember painful things when you fill in your Claim Form. You might become angry, sad, scared or upset. Take the time you need to write everything you want to say. Make sure you are in a safe place when you do this. It may help to ask someone you trust to stay with you.

You will not get in trouble for telling what happened. You did not do anything wrong. No one has the right to hurt or abuse you.

Reproduced from http://archdisabilitylaw.ca/node/1131