Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Huronia institution cemetery a painful reminder of neglect and abuse

Huronia institution cemetery a painful reminder of neglect and abuse 

As part of the $35 million settlement with former residents of Huronia Regional Centre, Ontario will offer a formal apology and a promise to maintain the cemetery and create a registry of all those buried there.

By: Rachel Mendleson News reporter, Published on Tue Sep 17 2013

Most of the 2,000 children and adults buried in the unkempt field across from Huronia Regional Centre were laid to rest in unmarked graves.

Others are identified by numbers scrawled on small slabs of concrete hidden amid overgrown grass.

For former residents of the government-run institution for the developmentally delayed in Orillia, the cemetery has served as a painful reminder of the neglect and abuse they have long insisted occurred there.

But that may soon change. On Tuesday, the Ontario government settled a historic class-action lawsuit with former residents of Huronia. The terms include $35 million, a formal apology — and a promise to maintain the cemetery and create a registry of all those buried there....

Under the terms of the settlement, 65,000 documents — including internal government documents, police reports, eyewitness accounts and letters from concerned parents — will also be made public.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/09/17/former_residents_settle_huronia_lawsuit_for_35m.html

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