UPDATE – CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT FOR ALLEGED GROSS NEGLIGENCE OF MINISTERS OF LONG-TERM CARE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS CERTIFIED
Toronto, September 27, 2025 – The Supreme Court of Canada has cleared the way for the class action brought against the government of Ontario on behalf of residents of Ontario’s long-term care homes. The class action is based on allegations of gross negligence on the part of various Ministers of Long-Term Care, specifically in relation to their allegedly delayed, arbitrary and piecemeal response to COVID-19 in long-term care (“LTC”) homes, which is alleged to have caused widespread outbreaks and resulted in thousands of infections and deaths.
The case was certified as a class action by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on December 20, 2022. The Court certified the claims of LTC home residents and their family members. The claims of certain visitors to LTC homes were not certified.
The parties’ appeals of that decision were dismissed by the Court of Appeal for Ontario on February 6, 2024 and the government’s application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was dismissed on September 26, 2024.
The plaintiffs allege that the Ministers of Long-Term Care who were in office during the COVID-19 pandemic were grossly negligent in failing to prepare for and respond to the pandemic in Ontario’s LTC homes. Specifically, they allege that those Ministers ignored early information and red flags about the risk of COVID-19 in Ontario’s LTC homes and that, once the pandemic arrived, they adopted grossly delayed and inadequate measures, which exposed LTC home residents to harm.
The Ontario government denies the allegations and the Court has not yet ruled on the merits of this class action.
Class Members who wish to remain in the class action do not need to take any action at this time, but those who wish to exclude themselves will need to opt out, by delivering an Opt-Out Form before the deadline for doing so. Instructions for opting out and additional information about this class action can be found at the Ontario Government LTC Home Class Action website: www.LTCClassActions.com.
Please feel free to review the following documents:
Certification Decision ONSC
Certification Decision ONCA
Long Form Notice (English)
Long Form Notice (French)
Opt-Out Form (English)
Opt-Out Form (French)
ONTARIO CLASS ACTION CERTIFIED
Update – January 4, 2023:
On December 20, 2022, Mr. Justice Edward Belobaba of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice certified a class action brought on behalf of residents of long-term care homes in Ontario where devastating COVID-19 outbreaks took thousands of lives and caused untold suffering and grief.
The class action was launched in the summer of 2020 and alleges that Doug Ford’s Ontario government was grossly negligent by failing to prepared for and respond to the pandemic in Ontario’s long-term care homes in a timely and effective manner.
The claim alleges that the government ignored available early information and red flags about the risk of COVID-19 erupting in Ontario’s long-term care homes, many of which were ripe for outbreaks due to longstanding systemic deficiencies. Once the pandemic hit, it is alleged that the government recklessly adopted grossly delayed and inadequate measures which failed to respect the precautionary principle of not awaiting scientific certainty before applying multiple layers of infection prevention and control. The result was the exposure of thousands of residents of these LTC homes to the risk of COVID-19 infection and the resulting catastrophic loss of life.
Joel P. Rochon, co-lead counsel stated: “We welcome Justice Belobaba’s decision. It recognizes the shared tragedy suffered by too many of Ontario’s most vulnerable citizens and the related grief and trauma experienced by their loved ones. Now we look forward to advancing this important case forward, to secure substantive justice for these Class Members.”
For more information, please contact Jon Sloan at 1-866-881-2292 ext. 2990 or by email at jsloan@rochongenova.com.
