St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital Class Action

The Claims

St. Thomas was a government operated psychiatric facility located in St. Thomas, Ontario. The claim alleges that, from 1976 to 1992, involuntary patients detained in the medium secure forensic unit of St. Thomas were subjected to an abusive and punitive patient-run program with no medical merit.

The proposed class action, filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, alleges that this “treatment” program, run with the government of Ontario’s knowledge for over a decade, was initially developed and implemented by patients detained in the maximum security Oak Ridge Division of the Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene, including those with histories of sexual violence.

As part of this program, male patients were transferred from Oak Ridge to St. Thomas and placed in charge of the control, treatment, and punishment of female patients. These female patients included teenagers such as the proposed representative plaintiff, who was seventeen years old at the time of her admission at St. Thomas.

The claim alleges that Ontario and the former medical and unit directors of St. Thomas who oversaw the program were systemically negligent and breached their fiduciary duties and the patients’ Charter rights by implementing this unethical, harmful and medically meritless patient-run program.

The Class

The St. Thomas Class Action includes two different classes:

a) All persons who were patients in the Psychosocial Treatment Program (referenced as unit 2C, P2C, PST or PSTU) or its successor PST Program on the forensic unit at St. Thomas between 1976 and 1992, or their estates, (“Class Members”); and

b) All persons including, but not limited to, spouses, children, parents, and other relatives who, on account of a personal relationship to any one or more Class Members have a derivative claim for damages under s. 61 of the Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3 or other equivalent provincial or territorial legislation (“Family Class Members”).

Updates

On January 27, 2022, the class action was commenced.
Pursuant to the Order of Justice Perell, dated September 18, 2023, this action was discontinued against the two Defendant Doctors, Dr. Donald Angus Galbraith and Dr. Sam Swaminath.
On September 29, 2024, the class action was certified as against Ontario.
Discoveries were conducted between June 17, 2025 to July 8, 2025.