Fact Sheet – Class Action Settlement Funds and Government Funded Services and Supports

Many people with disabilities who lived at Huronia, Rideau and Southwestern Regional Centres received money as part of Class Action Settlements. Can developmental services or other government funded services and supports be denied to someone because they received settlement money from these Class Actions?

• Settlement Agreements in the Huronia, Rideau and Southwestern Class Actions were reached in 2013. These Agreements talk about settlement money that people could claim for the hurt or harm that happened to them when they lived at Huronia, Rideau or Southwestern Regional Centres. These places are often called institutions.

• The Settlement Agreements do not say that developmental services and supports can or cannot be denied to someone because they received settlement money. The Agreements do not talk about developmental services specifically. However, it is ARCH’s position that developmental services and supports should not be denied to someone if they received settlement money. The settlement money is for hurt or harm that happened to people when they lived at Huronia, Rideau and Southwestern Regional Centres. It is unfair to stop someone from getting developmental services and supports now, just because they were hurt or harmed at an institution many years ago.

• The Settlement Agreements do say that the settlement money is separate from social assistance from the Ontario government. Social assistance can be Ontario Disability Support Program money, also called ODSP. There are also other kinds of social assistance too. It is reasonable to think that social assistance includes developmental services and supports. The Settlement Agreements say that settlement money cannot change the kind of ODSP or Ontario social assistance people get, how much people get, or how long people get it. This is another reason why developmental services and supports cannot be denied to someone if they received settlement money.

• The Settlement Agreements also say that the Government of Canada and other provincial governments would be asked to agree that any social benefits they provide would also not be affected if someone received settlement money.

Can developmental services and supports or other government funded services be denied for other reasons?

• Most government funded services, including developmental services and supports, have eligibility criteria. Someone could be denied developmental services and supports if they don`t meet these eligibility criteria. There may also be other reasons why someone could be denied developmental services and supports.

For More Information:

• Read the ARCH Alert issued on December 2013, May 2014 and September 2015, currently available from ARCH’s public Resource Centre or by contacting ARCH to ask for copies.

• Persons with disabilities who live in Ontario can call ARCH for free, confidential summary legal information and advice. To find out about the kind of legal advice ARCH provides and how to book an appointment, go to: www.archdisabilitylaw.ca/services/legal-services/

* The information provided in these materials is not intended to be legal advice. Consult a lawyer or legal worker if you need legal advice on a specific matter.