Court allows negligence lawsuit against Ontario's LTC minister to proceed

TORONTO — Ontario's Court of Appeal is allowing a class-action lawsuit against the long-term care minister for negligence in the government's response to COVID-19.

Four lead plaintiffs lost their parents to COVID-19 or related complications in 2020, and while the province knew in late January of that year that residents of long-term care homes were particularly vulnerable to the virus, the government says it failed to act. Do not take protective measures until it is too late.

In their unproven lawsuit, they say thousands of deaths and illnesses could have been prevented if the government had acted sooner.

A High Court judge has upheld a class-action lawsuit against the long-term care minister, but refused to allow it to proceed on several other grounds.

The government appealed the certification, and the plaintiffs appealed the decision to dismiss the class action against the health minister and the chief medical officer on other grounds.

In a ruling issued on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court's decision.

In its decision, the appeals court wrote that the mandate of the Ministry of Long-Term Care is clearly distinct from that of the Ministry of Health and the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

Previous cases have confirmed that their mandates are in the general public interest and are not intended to “protect the interests of particular individuals,” whereas the Long-Term Care Homes Act is intended to protect long-term care residents. wrote the court.

“Indeed, appellants' attempt to distinguish the MLTC mandate in this way, and thus to impose a duty of care in favor of LTC home residents, may not prevail on the merits,” the court said. wrote.

“But I think it would be inappropriate to conclude at this stage that the appellants' arguments fail.”

The Ministry of Long-Term Care was only created in 2019 – it used to be part of the Ministry of Health – and so far there has been no authoritative judicial pronouncement about this “two-way division of ministerial responsibilities” and the change of individual minister. duty of care analysis, the court wrote.

Stan Cho, a spokesman for the long-term care minister who has led the cabinet since September, said he could not comment specifically on the case, but said the office had spent $85 million on infection prevention and control and was following the chief's advice. doctor of health department.

“We will continue to take concrete action to protect Ontario's long-term care residents and continue to make the necessary investments that Ontarians deserve and expect,” Daniel Strauss wrote in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on February 6, 2024.