Saskatchewan's Leader Post is covering autism this weekend, including profiling some autistic children and their families and notes that in Canada's Autism Wasteland the politicians are remaining silent on autism during the Saskatchewan election with none of the parties featuring an autism plank in their party platforms.
The lack of discussion of autism issues is featured in Autistic children get lost in election shuffle an article which also features SASKFEAT's Lisa Simmermon, herself the mother of an autistic child and a long time autism advocate. The provincial politicians in Saskatchewan are using their own delay and neglect of autistic children as an excuse for not being in a position to provide autism services, using the standard, "we have to consult the stakeholders", lines to explain why they are not in a position to start implementing autism specific programs.
We went through that song and dance years ago in New Brunswick when the Interdepartmental Committee on autism services took 18 months to report that there were few autism specific services in New Brunswick. That report then went unread by the lead minister on the Committee, then Health Minister Elvy Robichaud for almost a year.
In another flashback moment, a Kim Campbell moment, the Leader-Post reports that Lisa Simmermon was told by one provincial politician that "an election is not a time to comment on government services." Yeah, right.
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