REHAB CLINIC LEAVES ADDICTS OUT IN COLD

Facility Closes Suddenly; Families Unable To Reach Staff Members And
Edmonton-Based President

A private drug-and-alcohol rehab centre in the Laurentian town of
Chertsey closed abruptly this month and left cocaine and heroin
addicts to fend for themselves in Montreal.

The Clear Haven Center, which advertised a "holistic approach to
substance abuse treatment" amid "122 beautiful wilderness acres," shut
its doors on Jan. 7. But as late as Dec. 31, staff members were still
accepting new patients and demanding thousands of dollars in payment
up front.

"It's absolutely disgraceful," said Joceyln, a Toronto resident who
said she paid more than $5,000 by credit card on New Year's Eve to
enroll her 28-year-son in a month-long program.

"None of the families were notified in advance of the closing. My son
and the others were told they had half an hour to get all their stuff
together and a bus was going to pick them up and drop them off in Montreal.

"They were given $100 each and told to find their own way home," added
Joceyln, who didn't want her last name published in order to protect
her family's privacy.

"My son told me that some of the people on the bus said they were
going to use the $100 to buy drugs."

May, a Vancouver resident, said her family paid Clear Haven more than
$19,000 by bank draft on Dec. 23 to treat her brother for three months.

"We spent all of our money on this, and we've since had to take out a
loan to get my brother into another centre in Quebec," said May, who
also spoke on condition that her last name not be used, for privacy
reasons.

"I think it's really pathetic to target families that are in their
time of need."

The centre, which has a capacity for 60 patients, was treating 28
addicts at the time it closed. Families can no longer reach staff
members. The centre's 1-800 number informs callers that the voice
message box is full.

Clear Haven's website was taken down after the centre closed, but
reappeared yesterday.

Since Thursday, The Gazette has been unable to reach Clear Haven's
founder, Terry Orsten, a dentist by profession. Joceyln said the only
contact name she was ever given at the centre was a Sherry R.

Quebec corporate registry records list Orsten as the administrator,
president, secretary-treasurer and majority shareholder of Clear
Haven. An Edmonton address is given for Orsten.

The records show that Clear Haven was registered in Quebec in 2004.
However, the company failed to file obligatory annual tax declarations
in 2008 and 2009.

Louis Gascon, a Montreal corporate lawyer, is listed in the records as
a "fonde de pouvoir," or proxyholder, for Clear Haven.

In an interview with The Gazette yesterday, Gascon said that his role
was limited to helping register the company six years ago and that he
was never involved in the centre's daily operations.

"I can't make a comment, except that I, personally as a citizen and as
a father, hate to see things like that," Gascon said.

"But I really don't know anything about it."

In addition, Gascon gave The Gazette two phone numbers with which to
contact Orsten. One, a cell number, is no longer in use.

The other number was for Clear Haven Dental, an Alberta clinic. An
employee there said that Orsten hadn't worked at the clinic for at
least two years.

The rehab centre was the subject of a complaint two years ago with
Quebec's Consumer Protection Bureau. A client at the centre complained
about the quality of treatment and wanted to be refunded $8,000 after
a stay of a few days, but was denied.

Jean Jacques Preaux, a spokesperson for the consumer protection
bureau, said families have two options: either to try to sue Orsten,
probably in Alberta, or to file a complaint with police.

"But this centre was not a fly-by-night operation," Pre-aux said,
noting it was in business since 2004.

Preaux gave The Gazette an address for Orsten in Sylvan Lake, Alta.,
as well as a phone number. A reporter has left messages at that number
since Friday, but no one has returned the calls.

Joceyln said her son is back in Toronto living with her. She added
that she chose Clear Haven because she liked its "cognitive
behavioural" approach in helping her son recover from his cocaine addiction.

May said she was suspicious that when she asked for receipts an
employee always put her off.

But she added that she was attracted to Clear Haven because it offered
a setting that was far removed from her brother's home environment,
and that this would help him kick his cocaine and heroin habit