in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 21 ,2 02 1 | 4 FREE DELIVERY IS A LIMITED TIME OFFER. SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY. NO PROMO CODE REQUIRED 2423 TRAFALGAR RD. OAKVILLE (905) 257-7878 A $210-million class-ac- tion lawsuit has been launched against 71 Exten- dicare long-term-care homes in Ontario over the chain's handling of the CO- VID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit alleges Ex- tendicare "failed to protect residents" at the homes "through inadequate pre- ventative and responsive measures to the COVID-19 pandemic," leading to seri- ous injuries and deaths. "The defendants were aware that the (residents) were vulnerable individu- als and especially vulnera- ble to serious or fatal com- plications arising from con- tracting COVID-19," the lawsuit alleges. "Furthermore, the de- fendants were aware that the (residents) were depen- dent on the defendants for proper care, treatment and protection, especially from contracting COVID-19, dur- ing the pandemic period when they were not able to have direct contact with outsiders." None of the allegations in the statement of claim have been proven in court and a judge must still certi- fy the class action before the lawsuit can proceed. In a statement, Extendi- care said: "Our focus at this time is solely on providing quality care to our resi- dents, and supporting our families and team mem- bers. "Our hearts are with our community and those who have lost loved ones to this virus during this immense- ly challenging time," Exten- dicare stated. "We'll re- spond to the allegations through the appropriate le- gal channels in due course." Members of the pro- posed class action include all residents who lived in Extendicare's Ontario homes during the pandemic and family members, if the resident is now deceased. The lawsuit targets 35 Ontario long-term-care homes owned and operated by Extendicare and 36 homes managed by the company, including Wynd- ham Manor in Oakville and Extendicare Halton Hills. Wyndham Manor, which is managed by Extendicare, had an outbreak with 145 COVID-19 cases and 21 resi- dent deaths, according to Halton Public Health. Meanwhile, health officials have confirmed 154 CO- VID-19 cases at Extendicare Halton Hills with 18 resi- dent deaths, as of Jan. 15. Among the dozens of specific allegations in the lawsuit: • Extendicare allegedly failed to implement a prop- er infection prevention and control program; • Extendicare allegedly failed to "follow acceptable practices regarding the pre- vention and containment of contagious respiratory ill- nesses" such as COVID-19; • The company allegedly failed to properly train staff in infection prevention and control; • The homes allegedly failed to hire sufficient and adequate staff to provide proper care, supervision and treatment to the resi- dents; • The homes allegedly failed to maintain adequate screening and testing mea- sures for visitors, residents and staff; • The homes allegedly failed to adhere to public health orders and direc- tives regarding visitors. The two long-term-care homes in Ontario with the highest number of COVID- related deaths are Tender- care in Scarborough, with 73 deaths, and Orchard Vil- la in Pickering, with 70 fa- talities. Both homes are managed by Extendicare. According to the lawsuit, Extendicare has allegedly received approximately $104 million from the feder- al and provincial govern- ments to respond to the CO- VID-19 pandemic. "On May 14, 2020, the de- fendant Extendicare (Cana- da) Inc. committed to pay $10.7 million in dividends to its shareholders for its first quarter of 2020," the lawsuit alleges, "while only spend- ing approximately $300,000 of the company's own mon- ey on its response to the CO- VID-19 pandemic" The lawsuit was initiat- ed by the Will Davidson LLP law firm in Oakville and To- ronto's Thomson Rogers law firm. EXTENDICARE FACES $210M LAWSUIT OVER COVID RESPONSE Extendicare has been hit especially hard by the pandemic. Graham Paine/Metroland STEVE BUIST sbuist@thespec.com NEWS LAWSUIT INCLUDES LONG-TERM CARE HOMES IN OAKVILLE AND HALTON HILLS