two months after CWSDS moved 40 of its residents<\/a> from satellite homes in Burlington, Halton Hills, Mississauga and Oakville into the company\u2019s main facility in Oakville ahead of a strike by support workers.<\/p>\nThe home\u2019s management said at the time that moving all residents under one roof was done to ensure there would be enough staff to provide round-the-clock care in the event of a labour disruption. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur hearts go out to the family members and loved ones of the individual who passed away. We have been in communication with the family and have offered them support through this difficult time,\u201d the CEO of Central West Specialized Developmental Services, Patricia Kyle, said in a media statement, adding the death was unrelated to the labour disruption.<\/p>\n
Kyle said the person had been supported by CWSDS for many years, and that it \u201cadhered to all protocols and procedures in response to this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The support staff represented by Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 249 walked off the job on Nov. 19, more than 40 days after CWSDS requested a no-board report from Ontario\u2019s Ministry of Labour.<\/p>\n
Family members of residents protested the move, saying their loved ones were being subjected to an unsafe, overcrowded and stressful environment. Several of those family members penned a letter to Premier Doug Ford in October asking that their loved ones be returned to their original homes. <\/p>\n
The union said striking workers were mourning the death of the \u201cbeloved client\u201d on Friday, but did not share any specifics.<\/p>\n
In a news release, the union alleged conditions for residents have been worsening at the Bond Street location, saying that ambulance calls have been frequent and that residents have been \u201cleft sitting in soiled briefs for extended periods without adequate care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have raised our concerns to management again and again. We have raised these issues to the board again and again. We\u2019ve called the government to act,\u201d OPSEU Local 249 president Julie Geiss wrote.<\/p>\n
Kyle, however, accused the union of attempting to use the death to strengthen its bargaining position. She said members of the leadership team are on site seven days per week, and that all members of their care team have the appropriate skills, training and qualifications.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to prioritize the safety and well-being of people we support, surrounding individuals in our care with compassion and positivity as we work to limit the impact of the labour disruption,\u201d Kyle wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen great resilience in those we support as they adapt to their temporary surroundings and continue to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2025.<\/p>\n
Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 A resident of a Greater Toronto Area group home for adults with developmental disabilities that has…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":461408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2147,8142,2724,50,39343,3161],"class_list":{"0":"post-461407","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-justice","10":"tag-labour","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-ontario-quebec","13":"tag-social"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115755480880356566","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}