Ontario agrees to $35M settlement with former Huronia residents

Patricia Seth, 55, and 59-year-old Marie Slark were victims
of abuse at Huronia Centre while in their youth

ORILLIA, Ont. — The province on Tuesday reached a $35-million settlement with former residents of the Huronia Regional Centre, a former facility for people with developmental disabilities that faced allegations of abuse and was at the centre of a massive lawsuit.

The maximum compensation any former resident can receive is $42,000, according to Jody Brown, associate lawyer with Koskie Minsky, which represents thousands of former residents.

Compensation will be paid on an individual basis based on six layers of harm, Brown said.

Highest compensation would be paid to those who were sexually abused, he said.

"I'm so relieved. Now everyone will know I wasn't lying about how they treated me in that place,” former resident Patricia Seth said in a press release issued by Koskie Minsky.

The Ontario government will issue a formal apology to all former residents.  (more...)

Ontario agrees to $35M settlement with former Huronia residents