Laval residence for people with disabilities fires 9 employees in wake of assault arrests

After an internal investigation into alleged abuses of both staff and patients, Laval's health authority has fired nine employees of a rehabilitation centre for people with autism and intellectual disabilities.

More employees of Louise-Vachon residencemaybe fired, warned Christian Gagn, CEO of CISSS Laval.

On Tuesday, hetold Radio-Canada that eight employees had been fired. By Wednesday, the number was up to nine.

"We are talking about abuse in the sense of being beaten, pushing people in an abusive manner, intimidation, provocative behaviour and we are talking about complicity in these behaviours," Gagn said.

The internalinvestigation was launched as three employees face assault charges, including assault with a weapon, for events alleged to have taken place at the residence between September and November 2018, according to court documents filed June 12.

The three have pleaded not guilty and are expected to appear in a Laval court on Sept. 10. Other staff membersare still under investigation.

Some 45 employees havebeen questioned by the health authority and many said the"code of silence" among staff was preventing them from speaking out, Gagn said.

Employees were threatened with retaliationif they spoke up andthose threats weren't empty, the health authority alleges. Between employees, it is alleged that there were acts of vandalism, such as slashed car tires.

Some employees preferred to eat meals in their car to feel safe, it is alleged.

However, some employees have defied that code, blowingthe whistle on abuses inside the residence, which is located on Saint-Martin Boulevard West, he said.

The facility has 180 staff members and about55 residents. The employees who were fired were from a unit housing 16 residents, which is staffed byroughly 40 employees in total.

Health authority to improve security

The CISSS Laval is proposing a range of newmeasures to address safety, such as installing security cameras, offering more employee training and adding a third security officer.

The health authority will also be working with Quebec's behavioural specialist board the SQETGC to improve its approach.

Marjolaine Aub, the head of the union representing employees at CISSS Laval, said she is waiting to see what further actionthe CISSS Lavalwill take before welcoming the new security measures.

She declined to go into specifics of the case, as the union is conductingits own investigation, but she said she has never seen anything like itin her 20 years of union work.

"We're stunned," Aub said.

All three unions that represent employees at the residence have reportedwhat Aub called a longstanding"unhealthy" work environment to management, she said, but little action was ever taken to remedy that situation.

"Nothing was going well," Aub told Radio-Canada. "Nothing."

Quebec ministry satisfied with CISSS response

In an email to CBC News, Quebec Health and Social Services Ministry spokespersonAlexandre Lahaiesaid the ministry is happy the CISSSLaval took quick action.

"The actions and cases of mistreatment and harassment, of both the patients and care personnel, are extremely serious and unacceptable," he said.

Lahaie said the ministryencourages anyone who witnesses suchevents to speak out.

Lahaiesaidthe Quebec government has invested an additional $200 millionto hire more nurses and orderlies.

"Our health system needs to be repaired after having suffered from serious cuts over the last four years," he said.

'Terror' and 'oppression' unacceptable

The lack of training and qualified staffing in this case is "appalling," Electra Dalamagas, who is in charge of family intervention at Autisme Montreal, told CBC Montreal's Daybreak Wednesday.

"Families count on establishments to be able to take care of their vulnerable family members when they are adults, and this is unacceptable in 2019 that we are talking about abuses like this," she said, describing the atmosphere as one of "terror" and "oppression."

DalamagasblamesCISSS Laval for what she calls "systematic negligence," but she also points a finger atprovincial health authorities, saying there is alack of administrative and clinical supervision right acrossQuebec.

"Who are the specialists who are overseeing this home and any other home like this?" she asked. "What we are seeing is a dramatic decrease in quality of care."

"It's out of sight, out of mind."

Dalamagas said this problem is not isolated to the Louise-Vachon residence. There has been a decline in the quality of such service across Quebec, she said.

Improved supervision, obligatory training and improved quality of life is needed in residences for people with intellectual disabilities and autism, she said.

She would like to seethe province's human rights commission investigate further.

"We are talking the talk, but we are not walking the walk," Dalamagas said.