08.25.2013 09:12 AM

Ontario’s shame

You have to read the whole story. It is really, really important. Quote:

“Abused, neglected, vulnerable — they should have been protected. Instead, they were deprived of that most precious commodity: A childhood.

This puts all of us to shame.

And it shames us all that our premier is leaving these women in their hellish nightmare, instead of simply saying we are sorry.”

Wynne, Gerretson, the system: all will deeply regret not dealing with this before now. An historic wrong. Mark my words.

16 Comments

  1. davidray says:

    Oh dear God please forgive my parents for what they did to my older brother when they left him there fifty years ago. They’re gone now as is he. Warren, where is that dock you were crying on. I need to borrow it for a day or two if you don’t mind.

  2. Houland Wolfe says:

    I don’t often agree with Christine Blizzard but in this case our storm clouds are mutually aligned. In the early 1990s, I worked briefly for MCSS and visited Huronia. Officials required one guy to sleep in the women’s wing so that the men could sleep in peace. The doubly-diagnosed (mental health and development issues) pose serious challenges, no matter where they live. We’ve since swapped community-based for institutional care. Can we now rest assured that our practices meet community standards? Or will Ontarians thirty years from now need again to apologize for their indifference to the suffering of others?

  3. patrick says:

    Long term scar, like slavery has been in the US? I don’t think so. It’s awful, by our standards but not for the times. And it’s not specific enough, not racially or politically or religiously motivated, to really stick on our social fabric as a psychic wound.
    By comparison, I think the medical experiments done on aboriginals is by far a much more horrific crime and something that must be acknowledged and apologized for, though less people may be involved.
    Does the state owe these victims money for the cultural ignorance of the times?
    Will the state have to compensate all the people busted for pot possession when our state laws change? Prison is an awful experience. Robbed many people of the best years of their lives. Stigmatized the victims of pointless prosecution and placed them in dangerous and abusive environments.
    Compensation? I’m happy leaving that to the courts.

    • davidray says:

      that is very callous of you. if you are ever passing through Orillia stop by Huronia and imagine for a moment what that place must have been like and then compare that to a pot smoker.

  4. frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

    BC had its very own Huronia, called Woodlands, as I’m sure most other provinces had as well, so its a shame that we all share.

    I really thought Ms. Wynne was better than this.

  5. kitt says:

    Oh boy, life sucked for some and for the handicapped or challenged, life sucked more than for others. Institutions used to be considered the solution that many parents and governments took advantage of because they could not cope with having their children in their homes. At least these women did not get sterilized as what happened in Alberta. I am sure these women are receiving social assistance of some kind for their daily needs. But some lawyer has seen a situation where he can make a big fat fee…… which is disgusting.

    • smelter rat says:

      Seriously? That’s your take? People’s lives were ruined. They deserve far more than eligibility for social assistance.

  6. Pipes says:

    Had a relative in Huronia and she is part of the action against the government
    The Premier is a real disappointment and I can not find the words to describe my violent disgust for the government and the perpetrators

  7. MCBellecourt says:

    And what if she did differently? She wouldn’t have been praised for her benevolence, she would have been slammed for being too socialist. Shitting on the less fortunate is very much in vogue these days and she has the poltical feedback to worry about, more than most of us would like to admit. Some liberal voters I know of would take turns at making disparaging remarks at those who have been unable to find work here, or those who can’t work because of disability.

    I wish she had done differently, too, but because of the mean-spirited country that Canada has become, I don’t blame her. I blame voters themselves. I blame the holier-than-thou who whine about paying taxes, when that very same tax money could save their asses if something happened to them.

    Kathleen Wynne is caught between a rock and a hard place because of voters and their glaring ignorance.

    • Elisabeth Lindsay says:

      Oh my goodness. I actually agree with McBellecourt. Remember, when you are blaming the Government, you are blaming yourselves.

      • MCBellecourt says:

        Some of us do pay attention and vote for parties that don’t think social programs are evil. I am one who pays attention. I also vote on the provincial and municipal level for people who combine fiscal responsibility with a bit of humanism.

        Not all of us carry the blame for the government that gets into power, and I will not suffer being lumped in with those who either don’t bother to vote (eadbeats) or those who vote for parties that stand for corporate welfare–and we both know which Canadian political party favours the welfare of corporations over the welfare of its own citizens, Liz.

  8. Elisabeth Lindsay says:

    You can bet your socks that the lawyers will make a whole lot more money than any one of the victims of the horrors of that place.

    Why not send what you`re spending on the lawyers to the victims, along with a compulsory per capita tax with the apology.

  9. Simon Sazinsky says:

    Interesting that Justin smoking pot got more responses than this issue….

  10. Paul says:

    These issues cant be new – how long has it been in govts face…Wynne needs to act but many other likely did nothing too!!!

    • MCBellecourt says:

      And with our current first=past-the-post system, nothing will. Electoral reform is overdue. That is the elephant in the room. where *all* issues are concerned.

  11. Cliffy says:

    I’m a fucking coward.

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