Survivors of the Huronia Regional Centre (HRC) are sure to turn some heads this weekend during an event at the HRC Cemetery in Orillia.
On Sunday, survivors and others will carry a coffin from the Leon’s parking lot to the cemetery on Memorial Avenue.
“They’re doing that because a lot of the people who were buried at the cemetery, especially the ones who were buried by number, did not have a funeral,” said Debbie Vernon, communications co-ordinator with a group called Remember Every Name, which has worked to identify and mark gravesites at the cemetery.
The procession will start at 1 p.m., and Vernon encourages the public to attend.
“Members of the public may not know about this part of Canadian history, when we locked people away in these large institutions,” she said. “They also need to learn that history should not repeat itself.”
The HRC, an institution for those with developmental disabilities, was closed by the province in 2009. A year later, former residents launched a class-action lawsuit against the province, citing various forms of abuse they suffered while at the HRC. A $35-million settlement was reached in 2013.
Now, with the money left over from that settlement, survivors are trying to get a monument installed at the cemetery.
Well-known sculptor Hilary Clark Cole is designing the monument, but Vernon is still waiting on approval from the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services.
“We are hoping they’ll do the approval this week,” said Vernon, who is involved with the project. “We have been working with (Simcoe North MPP) Jill Dunlop. She has made it a priority to get us an answer.”
A scale model of the monument will be on display during the May 12 event, and Vernon hopes the final product can be unveiled in early July.
“We just need the approval to forge ahead,” she said. “It’s not going to cost the government one penny to do this.”
For more information, check out the Remember Every Name Facebook page.
