Community Living Ontario calls for immediate action on inappropriate hospitalizations
For Immediate Release//Toronto, Ontario, November 25, 2025
Today, Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé released a new report on the inappropriate hospitalization of adults with developmental disabilities. The report contains harrowing stories of people living in hospital for years, where they were physically and chemically restrained, and where their health and quality of life declined precipitously.
“I am saddened but unfortunately not surprised by the Ombudsman’s findings,” said Chris Beesley, CEO of Community Living Ontario. “This is a longstanding issue that will not be remedied without appropriate investments in developmental services and family support. With appropriate resourcing, we could drastically increase capacity to welcome people into community-based settings at a lower cost, in ways that drastically improve health and quality of life.”
Recent Canadian research shows that it costs $770 per day to support a person in an Alternate Level of Care placement in hospital. (1) The same person could be supported by a developmental service agency for less than half that amount, (2) and with significantly better health outcomes.
More than 53,000 adults with developmental disabilities are on a waiting list to access developmental services in Ontario. This includes over 28,000 people waiting to access supportive housing. (3) This is the result of decades of underfunding in the developmental services sector.
“All people with disabilities have the right to live and participate in the community,” said Niko Pupella, President of the Council of Community Living Ontario. “Forcing people to live in hospitals is a clear violation of their rights, and we need strong action from the province to stop this unacceptable practice.”
“Supporting people to move out of hospitals and into the community just makes sense,” said Beesley. “By acting on the Ombudsman’s recommendations, the provincial government will show that it values the lives of people with developmental disabilities, and that it will give them the priority they deserve.”
For more information on the waitlist for developmental services, see www.Waiting2Belong.ca.
For media inquiries, please contact: Teresa Kruze | (416) 727-8145
1 K. Basu (2025). Estimating the cost of Alternate Level of Care when it is inextricably linked to the cost of acute care: A Canadian example. Hospital Topics, 1-11.
2 The Ontario Public Accounts show that the Government of Ontario spent $2,261,760,290 on supportive living services in 2023-2024, supporting (according to the Financial Accountability Officer of Ontario) 17,856 people, for an average cost of $126,667 per year, or $347 per day.
3 Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (2024). MCCSS: Spending plan review.