Jasminka Kalajdzic

The court issued an addendum to its previous reasons regarding the allocation of $7.45 million in cy-près settlement funds from three class actions.

The court had mistakenly allocated $772,973.13 to a CAMH proposal, believing it was supported by the representative plaintiffs.

Upon being informed that the representative plaintiffs vigorously opposed the CAMH proposal because it did not align with the settlement's goal of enhancing the ability of individuals with developmental disabilities to guide decisions affecting them, the court rescinded the allocation.

The funds were instead redirected to People First of Ontario.

The court considered the allocation of approximately $7.45 million in Strategic Program Investment funds, representing unclaimed settlement funds from three class actions concerning institutional abuse at Huronia, Rideau, and Southwestern Regional Centres.

The Plaintiffs sought approval for allocations to 37 applicants, while the Crown disputed parts of the proposal, advocating for increased funding for People First of Ontario or the McMaster University project, and raising concerns about accountability, potential bias, direct individual benefits, and artistic projects.

The court approved the Plaintiffs' allocation with adjustments, disapproving certain applications that provided direct individual benefits or were deemed disproportionate artistic projects, redirecting those funds to People First of Ontario and the McMaster University project, and establishing an accountability mechanism through the Administrator.