Public curator ‘stole’ mom’s house: daughter
There’s no oversight of organization: watchdog
An angry Chrysoula Panagiotopoulos shopped for a bed Friday because her mother needs somewhere to sleep after the public curator “stole her house.”
“Why did they do that?” demanded Panagiotopoulos after her elderly mother and mentally-ill brother were evicted from their home of 50 years Thursday by the organization whose responsibility is to look after people who are unable to care for themselves.
“We tried to get help from the public curator because my brother is not healthy. But they didn’t take care about his mental health. All they did was control his money. Now they are throwing him out on the street.”
John, 54, and Cristina, 79, slept on a couch last night.
The curator’s office is responsible for protecting and administering the assets of some of the most vulnerable members of society, including the mentally ill, Alzheimer’s patients and seniors deemed unable to handle their own affairs.
This eviction comes as a watchdog group is raising the alarm that there is no oversight or accountability when it comes to the assets or money – about $315 million in 2010 – that the curator manages for its 12,500 wards.
Public Curator Dianne Lavallée was not available to comment. Her office would not provide details about the Panagiotopoulos case for reasons of confidentiality. But it will respond to concerns raised by The Gazette on Monday, said François Loiselle, director of communications for the curator. The story sparked outrage among Gazette readers, who wrote or phoned to complain about the curator’s “mind-numbing bureaucracy” and general heartlessness. Critics say the public curator acts arbitrarily and that the drama of the Panag- possessed of their money, goods and homes. “It’s very annoying that people have to make official written requests for their financial records (detailing how the curator manages their affairs) and which by law they are entitled to.”
Strict confidentiality rules impede families with complaints or questions from finding out how the affairs of a ward are being handled, said Ura Greenbaum, head of the Association for the Defence of Persons and Property under Public Curatorship.
Last May, Greenbaum was refused an access-to-information request for “a secret report” tabled in cabinet in 2008 by then-family minister Michelle Courchesne, which suggested huge gaps in care remained 10 years after a scathing report by the Quebec auditor-general that said the public curator mismanaged its wards during years of incompetence and neglect.
John became a ward of the state after his mother contacted the local CLSC about his extreme hoarding. She wanted help for his psychiatric disorder. He had become violent after the city forcibly cleared his apartment of rubbish when it became a fire-hazard.
Court documents show that, as of 2006, months after gaining guardianship of John, the curator started battling the family for their home to cover costs such as decontaminating a basement oil spill. While John is a ward of the state, his mother is not. She owned one-third of the triplex and she’s supposed to get a one-third share from the sale of the house. But only after the curator calculates her portion of the debt, said a family member who asked that his name not be published.