A class action was launched in 2020 on behalf of the residents of 96 long-term care homes in Ontario that experienced COVID-19 outbreaks and their family members and estates. The class action is seeking damages from the owners and operators of the long-term care homes for alleged negligence, breaches of fiduciary duty, and breaches of section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Sienna Senior Living Inc. and the City of Toronto are named as proposed Representative Defendants, with the government of Ontario to be added as a defendant once the 60-day notice period expires.

On December 20, 2022, Mr. Justice Edward Belobaba of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice certified the class action. The claim alleges that the government of Ontario and the Defendant owners and operators ignored red flags and failed to adopt timely and reasonable infection prevention and control measures to avoid exposing the elderly residents to the risk of infection with COVID-19. It also alleges that long-standing deficiencies in the long-term care system made these facilities ripe for infectious outbreaks, for which neither the government nor the homes were prepared.

Innis Ingram, an advocate for long-term care home residents and one of the nine proposed Representative Plaintiffs, stated that the class action seeks accountability from long-term care providers with regards to their mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The inaction and slow response time needlessly cost many lives and has seriously impacted countless more. He hopes that the suit will be a catalyst for change in the long-neglected long-term care system.

You can read more details about the Class Action here.

The action is sucessfully brought in part by Himelfarb Proszanski, with Rochon Genova LLP, and Cerise Latibeaudiere Law Professional Corporation. For more information, please contact Peter Proszanski at +1-877-820-1210 ext 222 or email him at peter@himprolaw.com