Campaign against Regional Centre
closures: Court orders 90-day reprieve
Step one in the victory to
stop the closure of Ontario’s Regional Centres:
The movement of residents from
the Rideau and Huronia Regional Centres has been stopped for
at least 90 days.
In a Sept. 29 ruling, The
Ontario Superior Court put a stop to Community and Social
Services Minister Sandra Pupatello’s plan to move out
residents from Rideau. The judge ruled that the Ministry
cannot move any resident out of Rideau without permission from
their family for 90 days, or until Rideau’s legal case is
heard and ruled on by the court.
Following the ruling, the legal
team representing the families of Huronia negotiated an
agreement with the ministry to extend the same moratorium for
their centre. The next court date will be Dec.12, 2005. If the
court rules in favour of the residents, the government may
have to stop all closure plans or change the law if they wanted
to proceed with the closures – a very long and difficult
process.
A ruling isn’t expected until
the middle of January at the earliest which will extend the
moratorium on moves for at least an additional two weeks. If
the courts rule against the residents on this legal challenge,
a further class action lawsuit will be filed, families
indicate.
Stop the Regional Centre Closures Index
