Ontario retirement homes abrupt closure shows need for seniors advocates [Video]

The Trillium Care Norwich retirement home gave residents two weeks’ notice of its Nov. 11 closure, forcing families to find last-minute accommodations for the 18 people who lived there.

The Retirement Home Regulatory Authority said the closure contravened the Retirement Homes Act, which requires a 120-day notice to residents.

But Raymond Chan, a spokesman for the regulator, said that does not mean it could stop the home from closing its doors.

“Where someone has committed an offense under the Retirement Home Act, the RHRA can and has used a range of enforcement tools to recognize the breach and serve as a deterrence,” Chan said in a statement.

“Those tools include management and compliance orders, administrative monetary penalties (AMPs), licence revocation and the ability to prosecute under the Provincial Offences Act.”

Chan did not say which, if any, enforcement measures might be used in this case. The owner of the retirement …