We are "Remember Every Name", a group of survivors and allies who honour those who died at HRC; we commit to remembering past harm and preventing it in the future. 

In 2013, a class action was settled and some Ontario institution survivors were compensated for horrendous abuses. Premier Kathleen Wynne apologized, admitting that people "were failed by a model of institutional care ", after decades of overcrowding, understaffing and underfunding. Both Conservative and NOP leaders echoed those concerns. The Ontario government pledged "to protect the memory of all those who have suffered, help tell their stories and ensure that the lessons of this time are not lost." Now you know this promise has been broken.

Thankfully, the Canadian Military Joint Task Force reported what they saw when they were deployed into Ontario "long term care" institutions this Spring. HRC survivors are appalled, but not surprised, that people continue to be neglected and abused in Ontario institutions. HRC survivors remember experiencing many of those same injuries and indignities themselves, and remember children and adults dying among them. Institution survivors know that mistreatment will happen, whenever vulnerable people are congregated and removed from society, locked up and forgotten. 

Please note that the people forced to live in Ontario "long term care" institutions are not all elderly; they admit disabled people as young as 18 years old. And the horrible irony is that people who have been denied support to remain in their own homes and communities actually get less support in institutions, at greater cost to taxpayers. In fact, when HRC closed, some people moved directly into these other Ontario institutions, often operated by political friends of government, for profit. Also when people living in Ontario group homes need more support, they continue to be moved into some of the worst institutions, where no one advocates for them. Now they are dying there.

All governments across Canada have known for a long time about these deplorable conditions. It should not have taken a pandemic to expose the problems in nursing and retirement institutions across this country. All of you failed to address the problems revealed in years of inspection and media reports. Ontario institution survivors want you to make sure history stops repeating itself. Canada must find a way out of this deadly quagmire. You and Premier Doug Ford said you would do whatever it takes to stop this. 

Your federal government must lead the provinces to save the lives of Canadians. 

• Stop deceiving everyone by calling these institutions "homes". 
• Establish and enforce national standards to immediately promote residents' rights and ensure safe and humane care for our seniors and people with disabilities. 
• Create national monitoring requirements - in-depth inspections, with licenses removed if problems are found. 
• End for-profit institutions and stop institutional development. Stop diverting government funding to benefit wealthy corporations. (Survivors are horrified that the Ontario and Orillia governments have a plan to build another of these institutions on the property of HRC. This must stop now.) 
• All investigations of this system must consider why people end up in these institutions and create options to prevent admissions and help people leave. 
• The federal government must inform Canadians about the options that already exist elsewhere to increase community supports. Countries like Denmark might show how Canadians can do better. Tell us about the inspiring examples in some parts of Canada, that demonstrate innovative housing and non-institutional support arrangements. 
• Stop building more institutions and instead provide capital for home renovations. 
• Make better use of our tax dollars through direct funding - so that disabled people and seniors can hire support people and remain in their own homes.