Closure of Portage institution called end of ‘dark chapter’ By: Chris Kitching Posted: 5:53 PM CST Friday, Dec. 13, 2024

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This article was published 13/12/2024 (623 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Developmental Centre’s last resident was moved out Tuesday — a moment hailed by advocates after decades of calls to close the provincial institution for people with intellectual disabilities.

It took almost four years for about 100 residents of the Portage la Prairie facility to be moved to community living arrangements. An initial closing date of March 31, 2024 — set in January 2021 — was pushed back.

“It was a long time coming,” said Debra Roach, a Community Living Manitoba board member whose sister, Christine Barthelette, spent 16 months in the centre from the age of 10 in the 1970s.

“(There was) a lot of advocacy from a lot of organizations to get it closed and get the people who were living there into the community. It’s a new chapter.”

The centre was one of two remaining developmental centres in Canada, the 2023-24 Manitoba Families annual report said.

“It shouldn’t have taken until 2024 to get it closed.”–David Kron

“It shouldn’t have taken until 2024 to get it closed,” said David Kron, executive director of the Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba.

“It’s time to move forward and support these individuals, and all individuals with disabilities, in the community.”

The province said 108 residents were moved to homes in the community. Remaining staff are preparing for a final closure that is anticipated to be Dec. 31, a spokesperson confirmed.

Kron toured the facility in September alongside some former residents.

“It was a very depressing place. It was traumatic walking through with some of the survivors,” he said.

The facility opened in 1890 as the Home for Incurables. For a time, people who did not have intellectual disabilities were among those kept at the facility, Roach said.

The centre had more than 1,200 residents at its peak in the 1970s. The site became the MDC in 1984 after several name changes.

In August 2023, a court approved a $17-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit that alleged abuse and neglect at the facility. David Weremy, a resident from the 1950s to 1970s, filed the suit, which had about 1,360 class members.

The province initially denied the allegations in a statement of defence. In June 2023, then-Tory premier Heather Stefanson apologized on the province’s behalf as part of the settlement’s reconciliation initiatives.

Roach said facility records, obtained decades later, reported her sister had been sexually assaulted by male residents.

In January 2021, the Progressive Conservatives announced the site would close by the end of March 2024. The NDP has overseen the closure since its election victory last year.

‘Not a good place to live’

Multiple agencies worked on care plans for residents during their move to community living. New Directions helped more than 20 people, plus others before the closure was announced, said CEO Dr. Jennifer Frain.

Many went into independent living with some supports, she said. Others moved into group homes or adult home-share situations, in which the person lives with a provider.

“Hallelujah” was Frain’s response to the closure.

“An institution is not a good place to live for anyone,” the clinical psychologist said. “These were folks who did nothing wrong and were put in an institution, and forcibly kept in an institution as if they were criminal.”

Interim PC Leader Wayne Ewasko said he was “happy to see the page turned on a dark chapter” in Manitoba.

“It’s now incumbent on the NDP government to ensure they are providing full support to vulnerable Manitobans in need of appropriate and accessible care in their communities,” he said in a statement.

Most staff found other work: union

The centre was once one of Portage’s largest employers. Its staff count had declined to 370 by January 2021.

“With the support of the province, staff have accepted new opportunities in the community or in the public service, are in consideration for (other) employment within the government of Manitoba, or have chosen alternatives such as retirement,” the provincial spokesperson wrote in an email.

The Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union was involved to ensure the vast majority of staff found health care or other government work, said president Kyle Ross.

“The transition went relatively smoothly and is now largely complete with a few complications due to unique circumstances and with as few displacements as possible,” he said in a statement.

Portage Mayor Sharilyn Knox said the impending closure has prompted discussions about the centre’s history and the sprawling property’s future.

“At the same time, most people understand the changes in the way we do things, and they want the best for the residents,” she said.

It is still unclear what will become of the roughly 100-acre property, which has several buildings.

“No decisions have been made on the future of the facility,” the government spokesperson said.

Knox wants the property to be repurposed in a way that benefits Portage and creates employment. The mayor suggested it could be used to address some of Manitoba’s needs, such as services for addictions, education or seniors.

Frain and Roach said society must not go backward and return to using institutions.

“People deserve lives of freedom and choice,” Frain said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca