Published
October 3, 2026
Current and former inmates and immigration detainees who experienced 16 or more staffing-related lockdowns in Ontario provincial jails between May 30, 2009 and November 27, 2017, mostly after mid-August 2014, may qualify to claim $2,000 to $68,000 CAD from the Ontario corrections staffing lockdowns class action settlement. Claims close December 1, 2026, under a $59 million CAD settlement the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved on October 22, 2025.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline to submit a claim is December 1, 2026; the official notice gives a date but no time of day or time zone. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved the settlement on October 22, 2025, and the administrator’s notice says the approval became final on November 24, 2025. No payment date had been announced as of October 3, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Claims Open
Claim Deadline
December 1, 2026
Online, by email or by Canada Post postmark
Estimated Payout
$2,000 to $68,000 CAD
Set by lockdown count and harm · subject to pro rata reduction
Proof Required
Yes
Lockdowns verified against Ontario custody records · Serious Harm and statute-barred claims need supporting records
What Changed Recently?
The claim period opened after the court approved a settlement resolving two certified class actions over staffing-related lockdowns at Ontario correctional institutions: one brought on behalf of inmates and one on behalf of people held under the federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. A staffing-related lockdown is a lockdown in which people held at an institution are confined to their cells because of a shortage of staff.The lawsuits allege that Ontario and Canada subjected inmates and immigration detainees to chronic staffing-related lockdowns, and that this was negligent and breached sections 7 and 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The defendants deny those allegations, and the court did not decide who was right. The settlement does not mean the defendants did anything wrong.
On October 8, 2025, class counsel amended the Exceptional Circumstances Protocol so that any money left in that fund, including uncashed payments, goes to a further distribution for certain limitation-affected class members rather than to charity. The administrator says the change does not reduce any individual award.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement covers two classes:- Inmates: current and former inmates of Ontario correctional institutions between May 30, 2009 and November 27, 2017, whether remanded, serving a sentence or imprisoned for a parole violation, including people who are still incarcerated.
- Immigration detainees: people detained under Division 6 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act at Ontario correctional institutions during the same period, for that detention only.
Time at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, the Ontario Correctional Institute and the St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre is excluded. The notice lists 30 covered institutions, among them Maplehurst, the Toronto South and Toronto East detention centres, the Central East and Central North correctional centres, the Vanier Centre for Women and the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, plus jails that have since closed such as the old Toronto Jail and the Windsor and Chatham jails.
Being a class member is not enough on its own. Compensation is available only to people who experienced 16 or more staffing-related lockdowns, counted the way the Settlement Agreement counts them. Most of the money is for lockdowns between August 15, 2014 and November 27, 2017 for inmates, or between August 11, 2014 and November 27, 2017 for immigration detainees. Earlier lockdowns back to May 30, 2009 qualify only through the statute-barred route or the Exceptional Circumstances Fund, both described below. People who validly opted out of either lawsuit are not eligible.
How Much Can Class Members Receive?
The defendants are paying $59 million CAD in total. That sum also covers class counsel fees, which the court set at $17.7 million CAD plus HST and disbursements, along with the Class Proceedings Fund levy, administration costs and honoraria. The rest pays claims under four award types:- Basic Recovery Award, $2,000 to $28,000 CAD: every eligible claimant, scaled by the number of staffing-related lockdowns on a grid the administrator applies.
- Differential Impact Award, $3,000 to $15,000 CAD: claimants with at least one mental health alert or suicide alert in their Ontario offender (OTIS) record dated no later than their last qualifying lockdown, also scaled by lockdown count.
- Serious Harm Award, Level One, $20,000 CAD: specified harms such as a new or substantially worsened diagnosed mental disorder or self-injury within 120 days of a lockdown, or violence during a lockdown causing serious physical injury that needed medical attention.
- Serious Harm Award, Level Two, $40,000 CAD: a documented suicide attempt during or within 120 days of a lockdown, or violence during a lockdown causing permanent impairment.
A claimant can receive the Basic Recovery Award plus either a Differential Impact Award or one Serious Harm Award, not both. The maximum under the Compensation Protocol is $68,000 CAD. Every award is subject to pro rata reduction if approved claims exceed the money available, so the figures above are ceilings and grid values rather than guaranteed amounts.
A separate $2 million CAD Exceptional Circumstances Fund, part of the $59 million CAD total, pays limited compensation for certain lockdowns between 2009 and August 2014 and additional compensation to some people held at the Toronto South Detention Centre for at least six months after August 2014. The claim form has check boxes for immigration detainees with lockdowns before August 11, 2014 and inmates with more than 100 lockdowns before August 15, 2014.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
Proof is required, but most of it comes from government records rather than from the claimant. Eligibility and the number of lockdowns are determined from Ontario’s custody records, so a claim the records do not support is not paid. No notice ID, claim number or PIN is needed to file, and the claim form asks only for a name, date of birth and contact details to identify the claimant. The administrator’s FAQ says claimants do not need to list the dates or places they were held or their OTIS number; that information is on record with the Province of Ontario and is checked when a claim is reviewed. The lockdown count comes from those government records, and the claimant signs a declaration that the information is true.Basic Recovery and Differential Impact claims do not ask the claimant to attach documents beyond the records check. A Serious Harm claim requires a written description of the harm, and the notice asks claimants to include any supporting records they have, such as hospital or medical records or a letter from a doctor, psychologist, nurse practitioner, social worker, counsellor, therapist or registered nurse. People claiming for lockdowns before August 2014 because they were legally incapable of starting a lawsuit must also file the Statute-Barred Claim Form with medical or psychological evidence of that incapacity. A diagnosis alone is not enough under that test. Representatives filing for someone else attach proof of their authority.
What Is the Deadline?
Claims must be submitted on or before December 1, 2026. The notice does not state a time of day or time zone. For paper claims mailed through Canada Post, the postmark date counts as the submission date.The administrator has limited power to consider late claims received within 45 days after the deadline, but a late claimant must give written reasons for missing it, and the administrator decides whether to assess the claim. After January 15, 2027, no claim will be considered.
How to File a Claim
Claims can be completed and submitted on the online claims portal. The administrator’s settlement page also offers the Claim Form and the Statute-Barred Claim Form as downloads; completed paper forms can go back to the administrator by email or by mail, using the contact details on the official site.According to the notice, people currently held in an Ontario institution, a federal penitentiary or an immigration holding centre can pick up a claim form and postage-paid return envelope in the institution’s common areas, and Ontario probation and parole offices also carry copies. The form asks claimants to choose between Basic Recovery only, a Differential Impact Award or a Serious Harm Award, and to say whether they want to be considered for the Exceptional Circumstances Fund. Payment goes by cheque unless the claimant asks for direct deposit or another arrangement.
What Happens Next?
Deloitte LLP, the court-appointed administrator, reviews claims under the Compensation Protocol and Exceptional Circumstances Protocol. Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc., the adjudicator, decides certain Serious Harm claims and the statute-barred incapacity claims. The claim form says the administrator will contact each claimant with the result once all claims have been processed. No payment date had been announced as of October 3, 2026.Class members who do not file get nothing from the settlement but are still bound by its release of claims over staffing-related lockdowns at the covered institutions between May 30, 2009 and November 27, 2017. Having contacted class counsel in the past does not count as a claim.
Sources and Verification
- Ontario Corrections Staffing-Related Lockdowns Class Actions Settlement — Deloitte administrator page
- Long-Form Notice of Settlement Approval
- Claim Form and Statute-Barred Claim Form
- Administrator FAQ (March 2026)
- Settlement Approval Order, immigration detainee action (October 22, 2025)
- Koskie Minsky LLP class counsel case page
This page is informational and is not legal advice.
Questions
Does a claimant need to know their OTIS number or exact jail dates?
The administrator’s FAQ says neither is required. The dates and locations of incarceration and the Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS) number are already on record with the Province of Ontario and are reviewed when a claim arrives, so a claim can be filed without them.
Which Ontario jails are not covered?
Time spent at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, the Ontario Correctional Institute and the St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre is excluded. Elgin-Middlesex was the subject of separate class actions. The settlement covers the other provincial correctional institutions listed in the notice, including several jails that have since closed.
What happens to lockdowns before August 2014?
Most compensation is limited to lockdowns after August 15, 2014 for inmates and after August 11, 2014 for immigration detainees, because of Ontario’s two-year limitation period. Earlier lockdowns back to May 30, 2009 can be compensated only through the Statute-Barred Claim Form, which requires medical or psychological evidence of legal incapacity, or through the $2 million CAD Exceptional Circumstances Fund.
Can a claim be filed for someone who has died?
A person with legal authority can file for another class member, including an estate trustee. The claim form asks the representative to explain that authority and attach a copy of the document establishing it, such as a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee or a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property.
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
$59 million CAD
Case Title
Lapple et al. v. His Majesty the King in right of the Province of Ontario; Dadzie et al. v. His Majesty the King in right of Ontario et al.
Case Number
CV-16-558633-00CP · CV-16-558376-00CP
Court
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Final Approval Hearing
October 22, 2025
Settlement approved that day; approval final November 24, 2025
Administrator
Deloitte LLP
Official Website
Ont Jail Staff Lockdowns Settlement
