Winnipeg woman brainwashed in Montreal psychiatric hospital hopes new year brings new compensation
- What were called "depatterning experiments" later became an international scandal when it was revealed Cameron was covertly funded by the CIA as part of their MKUltra mind-control program.
- Cameron believed in using sleep deprivation, electroshock treatments and hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD to "depattern" the mind and wipe out mental illness.
- Compensation in the '90s
In 1992, about 77 of Cameron's former patients were given $100,000 by the federal government.
Lana Ponting hopes Montreal class action lawsuit will be certified this year
Kristin Annable · CBC News · Posted: Jan 02, 2020
Lana Ponting was just 16 when she was given LSD and methamphetamine in a series of brainwashing experiments by a world-renowned psychiatrist in 1958.
"I didn't even know half the time who I was," Ponting said. "It was almost like a jail. It was horrible."
The 78-year-old Winnipegger spent a month at McGill University's Allan Memorial Institute in Montreal under the care of Dr. Ewen Cameron.
Medical records say Ponting was fed a cocktail of drugs that also included barbiturates and anti-psychotics used to "explore" her. She was tied up and fed the drugs while doctors observed her behaviour and reactions.
What were called "depatterning experiments" later became an international scandal when it was revealed Cameron was covertly funded by the CIA as part of their MKUltra mind-control program.
But it wasn't just the CIA who funded Cameron. Canada's federal government provided Cameron with more than $500,000 between 1950 and 1965 — $4 million in today's dollars.
Ponting has never been financially compensated for her experience and 62 years later, she wants an apology from Ottawa.
"And I do want compensation because I think mentally and physically, I suffered a lot," she said.
Class action seeks compensation
Ponting hopes compensation will come if a Montreal-based class-action application is certified this year.
The application was filed in January 2019 in Quebec's Superior Court on behalf of anyone who underwent Cameron's "depatterning treatment" at the institute between 1948 and 1964.
The lawsuit also would include anyone whose family member or dependant underwent depatterning at the institute.
Lawyers on the case believe there could be hundreds of potential class members....
Cameron believed in using sleep deprivation, electroshock treatments and hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD to "depattern" the mind and wipe out mental illness.
However, it was later reported that his methods had lasting impacts on patients, sometimes erasing his patient's memories.....
Compensation in the '90s
In 1992, about 77 of Cameron's former patients were given $100,000 by the federal government. Hundreds more who applied for the compensation were rejected, because they needed to have proper medical records to prove they were tortured to a certain extent, and they needed to apply by a specific date.
Ponting said she never applied for the compensation because she wasn't aware it was being offered.....
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