Resident’s death at Ontario group home amid staff strike not suspicious: police

TORONTO — A resident of a Greater Toronto Area group home for adults with developmental disabilities that has been at the centre of a bitter labour dispute has died.

Halton regional police say emergency crews responded to a medical call Friday morning at 53 Bond Street in Oakville, Ont., a care home run by the provincially funded Central West Specialized Developmental Services.

They say first responders tried to save the resident’s life but the individual was pronounced dead.

Const. Jeff Dillon says the death is not considered to be suspicious after a police investigation and the coroner has been notified.

The death comes more than two months after CWSDS moved 40 of its residents from satellite homes in Burlington, Halton Hills, Mississauga and Oakville into the company’s main facility in Oakville ahead of a strike by support workers.

The home’s management said at the time that moving all residents under one roof was done to ensure there would be enough staff to provide round-the-clock care in the event of a labour disruption.

The support staff represented by Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 249 walked off the job on Nov. 19, more than 40 days after CWSDS requested a no-board report from Ontario’s Ministry of Labour.

Family members of residents protested the move, saying their loved ones were being subjected to an unsafe, overcrowded and stressful environment. Several of those family members penned a letter to Premier Doug Ford in October asking that their loved ones be returned to their original homes.

The union said striking workers are mourning the death of the “beloved client” on Friday, but did not share any specifics.

In a news release, the union alleged conditions for residents have been worsening at the Bond Street location, saying that ambulance calls have been frequent and that residents have been “left sitting in soiled briefs for extended periods without adequate care.”

“We have raised our concerns to management again and again. We have raised these issues to the board again and again. We’ve called the government to act,” OPSEU Local 249 president Julie Geiss wrote.

CWSDS CEO Patricia Kyle did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the resident’s death and allegations of unsanitary conditions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2025.

Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press