OPSEU: build 'centres of excellence', don't close facilities

Protesting closures of facilities for people with developmental disabilities

Toronto – Regional centres for people with developmental disabilities should be transformed into “Centres of Excellence” to serve and support communities across Ontario, says Leah Casselman, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE).

“Regional centres do a lot for the people who live in them,” says Casselman. “They could do a lot more for people in every corner of this province. Closing them is a serious mistake.”

Community and Social Services Minister Sandra Pupatello announced Sept. 9 that Ontario’s last three regional centres would wind down operations and close their doors by March 2009. The closure will reduce, not improve, services for the disabled, Casselman said.

“We know that at least 2,000 people are on waiting lists for the kinds of services our members provide,” says Casselman. “The closure of the regional centres will add 1,000 people to those lists. The Ministry has revealed no plan to shorten the existing lists, let alone deal with an extra 1,000 people in need of services.”

The regional centres are part of a “continuum of care” along with community-based living arrangements for people with developmental disabilities, Casselman adds.

“If, like me, you have placed a parent or relative in a nursing home, you know that there comes a time for all of us when ‘independent living,’ or ‘community living,’ is simply not possible. The people who remain in our regional centres are those with the most severe disabilities. Why should they be forced from their homes when they are already getting the specialized 24-hour care they need?”

The union’s position is strongly backed by family associations linked to all three regional centres - the Rideau Regional Centre Association, the Southwestern Regional Centre Auxiliary, and the Huronia Helpers.

The families of mentally disabled patients at the Rideau Regional Centre fear that the closing of the 50-year-old institution may result in the death of some of the province's most vulnerable citizens.

Family members of the approximately 1,000 patients in three Ontario institutions slated to close in March 2009 travelled to Queen's Park Wednesday to voice their concerns. NUPGE

Web posted by NUPGE: 3 December 2004

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