Institution in Manitoba, Canada, to be closed
The last institution for people with intellectual disabilities in Manitoba, Canada, closed its doors for good.
Inclusion Canada and Community Living Manitoba celebrate the advocacy that led to the closure of the Manitoba Developmental Centre (MDC) and recognise the hard work and many years it took to get here.
The closure of MDC has been pursued by self-advocates and families for over 30 years.
The Inclusion Canada and People First of Canada Deinstitutionalization Task Force has also played a particularly impactful role with their collective work on this issue.
- Beginning in the early 1970s, people with an intellectual disability and their families have been pursuing community-based housing options in Manitoba and in Canada.
- In 2006, Community Living Manitoba filed a human rights complaint against MDC based on the numerous accounts of mistreatment reported by Manitobans with disabilities who were housed there.
- In 2011, the government found MDC guilty of a human rights violation, opening the doors for David Weremy, an MDC survivor, to lead a class-action lawsuit against MDC in 2018.
- With the lawsuit underway, keeping MDC open became a losing battle for the Manitoba government.
- As a result of David’s fight, in 2023 the government settled the case providing compensation and a public apology.
"I am very happy.
"It took a long time. Now it's done."
David Weremy
As part of the MDC settlement agreement, The Winnipeg Foundation will be administering a $1 million endowment fund, called the Manitoba Inclusion Fund. This fund supports initiatives that foster and promote greater inclusion of individuals with an intellectual disability.
133 people live in the MDC today. In the 1970s, there were more than 1,000 people there.
