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Manitoba Development Centre Class Action
In October 2018 Koskie Minsky LLP commenced this class proceeding on behalf of the representative plaintiff, David Weremy against the Province of Manitoba in respect to the Manitoba Development Centre (“MDC”). MDC has been operating in Manitoba for decades housing persons labelled as developmentally challenged, delayed or disabled. The plaintiff alleges that members of the class were physically, sexually and psychologically abused at MDC. It is alleged that the Province of Manitoba breached its fiduciary and common law duties to the class through the establishment, operation, and supervision of MDC. In particular, it is alleged that the MDC failed to care for and protect class members, which resulted in loss or injury, including psychological trauma, pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
The Court certified this proceeding as a class action on behalf of: “all persons who resided at MDC between July 1, 1951 and May 29, 2020, and were alive as of October 31, 2016.” You can view the Long Form Notice of certification here.
A proposed settlement has been reached between the Plaintiff and the Defendant in this proceeding. Further details on the Settlement and your rights at this stage can be found in the Long Form Notice of Proposed Settlement here.
More information on the Settlement can also be found at the Administrator’s website (MDCclassactionsettlement.ca) available here. A copy of the Settlement agreement can be found here.
For further information or if you are a class member:
Toll-free: 1-800-286-2266
Email: mdcclassaction@kmlaw.ca
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Latest Developments
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March 13, 2023
We are pleased to report that a proposed settlement has been reached between the Plaintiff and the Defendant in this proceeding (the “Settlement” or “Proposed Settlement”).
The parties will propose the Settlement to the Court for its approval. For the Settlement to be approved and implemented, the Court must be satisfied that it is fair, reasonable and in the best interests of the Class. A hearing to determine whether the Settlement should be approved is scheduled for May 5, 2023 in Winnipeg.
In summary, the Proposed Settlement provides:
- A $17 million Settlement Fund;
- Compensation of up to $80,000 for specific harms suffered by Class members;
- A paper-based claims process for Class members to seek compensation;
- Reconciliation initiatives including:
- An apology from the Premier or the Minister of Families;
- A $1,000,000 Reconciliation Endowment established with the Winnipeg Foundation to fund initiatives impacting persons with developmental disabilities in Manitoba;
- A memorial to commemorate the experiences of Class members, to be located on the grounds of the MDC Cemetery;
- Other initiatives providing for access to MDC, story-telling initiatives, the preservation of documents in this litigation, and counseling for class members during the claims process, among other initiatives.
Further details on the Settlement and your rights at this stage can be found in the Long Form Notice, available here.
More information on the Settlement can also be found at the Administrator’s website (MDCclassactionsettlement.ca) available here. A copy of the Settlement agreement can be found here.
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December 14, 2022
On December 14-16, 2022, the parties are participating in a dispute resolution conference, assisted by the Honourable Justice Bock, for the purpose of exploring a potential settlement in this action.
The discoveries process is ongoing. Examinations of the Plaintiff were completed on November 16-18, 2022. The Plaintiff and Defendant must answer outstanding questions on interrogatories and undertakings.
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November 3, 2022
The parties continue to engage in discoveries. A Case Management Conference was held on October 7, 2022, and Justice Grammond directed a timetable for the tasks to be completed in order to conclude discoveries.
Oral examinations for discovery of the Defendant were completed on March 3, 2022, and the Defendant gave many undertakings during the course of those examinations. The Defendant has only answered some of its undertakings to date. The Defendant is expected to provide answers to all undertakings by January 13, 2023.
The Plaintiff has also served the Defendant with a series of written questions on interrogatories, on March 31, 2022. The Defendant has not answered any of those questions to date. The Defendant is expected to provide answers to all those questions by February 28, 2023.
The Defendant has also served the Plaintiff with its written questions on interrogatories, on October 27, 2022. Oral examinations of the Plaintiff are scheduled to proceed November 16-18, 2022.
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March 8, 2022
The parties are currently engaging in examinations for discovery, questioning key witnesses.
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January 10, 2022
The parties are currently preparing for examinations for discovery. During these examinations, key witnesses will be questioned in advance of a trial.
The deadline to remove yourself from the certified Class is this week, on January 12, 2022. More information is available in the Long-Form Notice, here. If you remove yourself from the Class, you cannot get any money or benefits from this lawsuit if any are awarded. To ask to be removed, you must complete the Opt Out Form available here.
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October 6, 2021
The Court has approved notices to be distributed to Class members regarding certification of this class action, including Class Member rights and options at this stage. You can review the Long Form Notice here. You can review the Short Form Notice here.
This class action is certified to proceed on behalf of the following Class Members: “all persons who resided at MDC between July 1, 1951 and May 29, 2020, and were alive as of October 31, 2016.”
If you are a Class Member, and you wish to keep your rights to sue the Government of Manitoba, you must remove yourself from the Class by the deadline of January 12, 2022. If you remove yourself, you cannot get any money or benefits from this lawsuit if any are awarded. To ask to be removed, you must complete the Opt Out Form available here.
The parties are currently completing productions and reviewing a large number of documentary productions.
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April 8, 2021
The Manitoba Court of Appeal has denied the Defendant’s motion for leave to appeal the certification decision of Justice Grammond. The reasons for the Court of Appeal’s decision can be found here.
The parties are currently producing and reviewing many documents, in preparation for a trial deciding the merits of the case. Documents are being produced monthly, with Defendant productions to be completed by August 31, 2021.
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February 1, 2021
On January 29, 2021, the Manitoba government announced that MDC would close down, through a phased approach over the next three years, moving current residents to community living situations. Our legal action will continue to seek remedies for those who resided at the institution in the past – the certified class includes those who resided at MDC between July 1, 1951 and May 29, 2020, and were alive as of October 31, 2016. The Manitoba Court of Appeal has not yet issued a decision on the Defendant’s motion for leave to appeal the certified class period.
The parties are currently working towards a documentary production plan ahead of trial
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January 6, 2021
The Defendant’s leave to appeal motion was heard by the Manitoba Court of Appeal on October 14, 2020, and the Court reserved its decision. The decision will be posted on this website as soon as it becomes available.
If leave is granted, then the Defendant will be allowed to present its case for appeal at a future hearing before the Court of Appeal. If leave is not granted, then the action will proceed as a class action for the whole certified class period, towards a trial.
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October 1, 2020
The Defendant’s leave to appeal motion will be heard before the Court of Appeal on October 14, 2020. The Court will afterwards decide whether the Defendant is allowed to proceed with an appeal of the certification decision.
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September 3, 2020
The Defendant is seeking leave to appeal Justice Grammond’s certification of this case as a class proceeding. A hearing will be scheduled to determine whether the Defendant can appeal the certification decision.
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May 29, 2020
The Honourable Justice Grammond has certified this proceeding as a class action. The certified Class is defined to include: “all persons who resided at MDC between July 1, 1951 and the date of the certification order, and were alive as of October 31, 2016.” The Reasons for Certification can be viewed here.
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March 2, 2020
The motion for certification of this action as a class proceeding was heard in Winnipeg on November 26, 2019. The judge reserved her decision. The decision will be posted here when it is made available.
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April 25, 2019
Since the last update on February 14, 2019, the Manitoba government confirmed that it would not be filing any evidence in response to the Plaintiff’s motion for the certification of this case as a class proceeding. That means that the motion to decide whether this case will proceed on behalf of former residents of MDC will be decided on the evidence filed by the Plaintiff and by legal arguments.
A hearing date has been set for November 26 and 27. At that time the Plaintiff will be asking the court to certify this case as a class proceeding on behalf of former residents of MDC.
The next steps in this matter would be for the lawyers for Manitoba to ask questions of the Plaintiff’s witnesses then for the parties to exchange written submissions, which will occur in the coming months.
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February 14, 2019
The Manitoba government recently delivered its Statement of Defence in the proposed class action brought by former resident, David Weremy, on behalf of former residents of the Manitoba Developmental Centre (MDC). The proposed class action alleges that Manitoba failed in its duties to the former residents who allege they were mistreated and abused while under the government’s care.
In defending the class action, Manitoba denies that it owed a fiduciary duty to the former residents of MDC to care for and protect them from any abuse while under MDC’s full care and control. It is not clear to Mr. Weremy how Manitoba could not owe a duty to those residents it housed and was supposed to care for and protect.
In addition, while Manitoba acknowledges that the residents of MDC were persons with developmental and other disabilities, Manitoba is seeking to rely on the passage of time to deny the former residents’ claims, despite the difficulty such persons with disabilities have in accessing the justice system. Based on this Statement of Defence, Mr. Weremy is concerned that the Manitoba government will try to take advantage of the residents’ disabilities to avoid responsibility for and public disclosure of the terrible conditions the former residents were forced to live in while under Manitoba’s care.
For media inquiries, please contact David Rosenfeld at drosenfeld@kmlaw.ca or 416-595-2700.
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December 20, 2018
To view various news reports from CBC, Global News, Winnipeg City News and Winnipeg Free Press pertaining Manitoba Development Centre please click on links below:
- CBC – $50M lawsuit alleges intellectually disabled residents were sexually abused, starved at Manitoba institution
- Global News – Class-action lawsuit alleges rape, abuse of patients; seeks $50 M for Manitoba Developmental Centre clients
- Winnipeg City News – $50m lawsuit filed against Government of Manitoba
- Winnipeg Free Press – Suit alleges physical, sexual abuse at Manitoba Development Centre
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December 19, 2018
To view a documentary raising awareness of the Manitoba Development Centre please click here.
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March 13, 2023
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Documents
- March 9, 2023 Long Form Notice of Proposed Settlement
- March 9, 2023 Short Form Notice of Proposed Settlement
- March 7, 2023 Settlement Agreement
- October 6, 2021 Long Form Notice of Certification
- October 6, 2021 Schedule "A" - Publication Notice
- August 25, 2021 Order re Notice of Certification
- May 29, 2020 Certification Reasons
- February 14, 2019 Statement of Defence
- December 19, 2018 Amended Statement of Claim
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FAQS
What is a class action?
A class action is a lawsuit which provides a method for a large group of people with common claims to join together to advance one large claim. Class actions are a more efficient and cost-effective way for groups of people with common claims to gain access to the legal system and seek justice.
What does certification mean?
In order for an action to proceed as a class action, the court must determine whether it is appropriate for the case to be treated as a class action. Some of the factors the courts consider are the extent to which the claims of the class
members are common, and whether a class action is preferable to other methods (such as individual actions) of advancing the issues. The decision as to whether a class action should be certified takes place at a certification hearing and is decided by a judge. If certified, a representative plaintiff will advance the action on behalf of all of the class members.How do I know if I am a Class Member?
The certification order will always contain a description of who is a class member. We post the certification orders in our actions so that you can review them. You do not need to “sign up” to become involved in a class action. If you are included in the class description, you are automatically a class member who will be affected by the outcome of the class action unless you decide to “opt out”.
Are Class Members notified of the certification of the class proceeding?
Yes. After the claim has been certified, the court will authorize notice to be given to the members of the class.
Can I opt out of a class action and pursue independent legal action?
Yes. When a class action is certified, class members are always given an opportunity to opt out of the action. A deadline is imposed for opting out. If you do not opt out by the given deadline, class members will be bound by the outcome of the class action, whether it is successful or unsuccessful. If you opt out, you will not receive any benefit if the action is successful.
Will there be any cost to class members for legal fees?
Typically, class actions are handled on a contingency fee basis, which means that the class action lawyers will be paid only if the class action is successful at trial or settled. In that case, class counsel fees may be paid by the defendants or out of the settlement or judgment proceeds as approved by the court. In addition, the plaintiff may seek funding assistance from the Class Proceeding Fund which, if funding is granted, may provide funding for disbursements.
I still have questions…
Please feel to contact us by using the contact information on this site.
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Contacts
Tollfree: 1-800-286-2266
Email: mdcclassaction@kmlaw.ca
