Ontario government faces court challenge over Orchard Villa expansion

Cathy Parkes’ father was a resident of Orchard Villa long-term care home in Pickering. He died of COVID-19 in April 2020, but Cathy said the state in which her father lived his final days was deplorable.

“The conditions surrounding his death were very traumatic for my family and for myself.”

Parkes and the Ontario Health Coalition are taking the province to court on Thursday. They are challenging the Ford government’s approval of an 88-bed expansion and new 30-year license for the long term care home, which is run by Southbridge Care.

“This from a company that has one of the very worst records of substandard care, negligence, neglect, horror and death in their facility,” said Natalie Mehra, Executive Director of Ontario Health Coalition.

CityNews reached out to Southbridge Care for comment and did not hear back in time for broadcast.

Advocates said the province isn’t adhering to its own long-term care act which said that government can’t issue licenses to long-term care homeowners that have had a history of sub standard care. They want the courts to ultimately quash the home’s license.

Orchard Villa was one of the homes hit hardest during the pandemic. Of the the home’s 233 residents, 206 contracted COVID-19. More than 70 people died during the pandemic’s first wave.

The province called in the military to help Orchard Villa and six other homes. The Canadian Armed Forces came out with a report afterwards, detailing troubling allegations at the Pickering home, which included insect infestations and patients left in soiled diapers.

“Why on earth would we give this 30 years and a massive expansion to such a company with such a record?” said Mehra.

Last June, the Ford government issued zoning orders to speed up the redevelopment of Orchard Villa, despite Pickering council rejecting the company’s zoning request.

The province for its part, said the expansion is in the public’s interest. In a statement, they tell CityNews in part: “The people of Pickering deserve a new, modern long-term care home, where currently hundreds of people are waiting for care.”

“It was our government that brought in the most robust safety requirements in North America in the Fixing Long-Term Care Act. The license extension also makes certain requirements such as hiring a management company for at least the first year of operation as well as contracting a hospital or non-profit entity to provide ongoing clinical supports/back-up as required for at least the first year of operation.

All proposed license extensions must undergo a rigorous undertaking process to show they can meet these new high standards, as is the case with the proposed Pickering development,” read their statement.

“Creating more beds without the quality of care is simply creating more horrific ways for more people to die,” said Parkes.

The one-day hearing will happen on Thursday in front of a panel of judges, where both sides will present their case. A decision could then be handed down in the next several weeks.