The nine were employed at the Centre de réadaptation en déficience intellectuelle et troubles du spectre de l’autisme Louise-Vachon, on St-Martin Blvd. W. in Laval. The centre specializes in rehabilitation for people with autism and intellectual disabilities and houses 55 residents with 180 staff members.

The nine worked in a unit with about 40 employees and 16 residents with serious behavioural problems. Incidents of aggressive behaviours include residents being pushed, beaten and threatened for no apparent reason.

Christian Gagné, CEO of CISSS Laval told CBC, “We are talking about abuse in the sense of being beaten, pushing people in an abusive manner, intimidation, provocative behaviour and we are talking about complicity in these behaviours.”

Omerta: Code of Silence

The group used intimidation to prevent their colleagues from reporting on them.

According to the Montreal Gazette, the workers were not only violent and intimidating to patients but also to fellow employees.

“What the investigation seems to indicate is that there was a fairly well-established omerta,” Pierre-Yves Séguin, senior advisor at CISSS Laval told Courrier Laval. We’re talking about home calls and flat tires.”

A Laval police investigation last January appeared to incite workers to come forward despite the potential reprisals.

Police Charge Three With Assault With a Weapon

The internal investigation was launched after a Laval police investigation last January charged three employees with assault charges, including assault with a weapon.

The three employees entered a plea of not guilty and are expected to appear in a Laval court this September.

Centre Has a History of Violence

Reports from the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) obtained by La Presse, confirms that issues regarding security and violence are not recent.

In the Spring of 2018, the CNESST confirm the magnitude of the problem, during a two year period one serious event related to violence took place at least once a week.

“At one point, even the police themselves did not want to come in, they were waiting for the back-up,” recalls L’Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS) union spokesperson Caroline Letarte-Simoneau,”We are lucky that there were no deaths.”

Problem Is Not Isolated to Louise-Vachon Residence

Electra Dalamagas, who is in charge of family intervention at Autisme Montreal, told CBC Montreal’s Daybreak, that this problem is not isolated to the Louise-Vachon residence and she would like to see the province’s human rights commission investigate further.