Mr. Garfield Dunlop (Simcoe North): Minister Pupatello must have some real concerns about the case that the families of Huronia and Rideau regional centres have against her. Our tax dollars went to support a large cadre of legal personnel: five lawyers, one articling student and about half a dozen paralegals. Is it so important that you strike down these facilities that provide such an important safety net for the profoundly developmentally disabled of our province?

The minister's lawyers actually entered into evidence proof that when other facilities were closed, many of the residents were moved into the remaining facilities, and when a placement didn't work out, many more were transferred into the facilities that are still open today.

The ministry's lawyers also acknowledged that once the residents are moved into group homes, they are not covered under the health services act from whence the families' roles as substitute decision-makers flow. They go out into an even more grey area of legal rights and supports than they are in now, and that's saying something.

It is a disgrace that there have been no amendments to this act to address the legal needs of these individuals. It is an even bigger disgrace that the crown lawyers said the government refused to disclose to the court when the actual decision of cabinet was concerning these closures. The judges were aghast, as we all should be. What was the decision? To close all three, to leave one open, how to treat people?

The crown lawyers indicated that all they needed to show was Minister Pupatello's press release, and thus her discretion to change the lives of 1,000 disabled and all their families would become a reality. Broad discretion, no plans and no responsibilities. No wonder the families are worried. It is disgraceful that the McGuinty government has made such an ill-conceived and mean-spirited decision affecting the lives of the most vulnerable people in our society.