Prime Minister Harper and Opposition Leader Ignatieff are rumbling over stimulus spending to recharge our economy.
Mr Harper wants a blank cheque from the opposition to spend without specifying what he would spend the money on. He threatens (again, yawn) to call an election if he does not get his way (of course Mr. Harper threatened to call an election for the past 2-3 years whenever the opposition disagreed with his spending plans but ran crying like a school yard bully to the Governor General to shut down Parliament when they stood up to him and called his bluff last December). Mr I quite reasonably asks for some specifics before agreeing to sign Mr Harper's blank cheque but appears to offer few specifics himself. Well here is a suggestion from AutismRealityNB.
Take a good chunk of that money and spend it on a conference of Canada's health ministers to draft a REAL national autism strategy to address Canada's autism crisis. Canadian children and adults with autism face a patchwork quilt of available autism treatment and services across Canada. With 1 in 15o Canadians (using CDC estimates from the US instead of the politicized information available in Canada) being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders it is time that Mr Harper, his health minister of the day and his party's token autism dad Edmonton MP Mike Lake started addressing Canada's autism crisis. The minister's should focus on one objective - establishing a mechanism for transferring federal tax dollars to the provinces specifically to provide evidence based treatment for autism and to provide decent residential care for autistic adults.
Canadian autistic children and adults do not need the same small clique of "autism researchers" conducting the same studies that do nothing to help autistic children or adults. ( Guess: Will Dr. Laurent Mottron and Michelle Dawson publish yet another study proving how smart high functioning "autistics' really are in 2009?). Canadian autism researchers have done nothing to actually help autistic children and adults particularly those at the lower functioning end of the autism spectrum.
Put the money into services that will actually HELP autistic children and adults. Put the money into making ABA available to autistic children wherever their parents live in Canada because studies, and credible (in other words, American) agencies, have found that ABA intervention helps autistic children make serious gains in all domains. Put the money into badly needed services for autistic adults like decent, humane residential care facilities where people matter more than profit.
Stop the silly posturing and help autistic Canadians. Whether Mr Harper believes it or not autistic Canadians are, despite their autism, still Canadians.
Spend some stimulus money helping Canadians with autism disorders Mr. Harper.
That is my stimulus suggestion for our out of touch federal leadership.
Mr Harper wants a blank cheque from the opposition to spend without specifying what he would spend the money on. He threatens (again, yawn) to call an election if he does not get his way (of course Mr. Harper threatened to call an election for the past 2-3 years whenever the opposition disagreed with his spending plans but ran crying like a school yard bully to the Governor General to shut down Parliament when they stood up to him and called his bluff last December). Mr I quite reasonably asks for some specifics before agreeing to sign Mr Harper's blank cheque but appears to offer few specifics himself. Well here is a suggestion from AutismRealityNB.
Take a good chunk of that money and spend it on a conference of Canada's health ministers to draft a REAL national autism strategy to address Canada's autism crisis. Canadian children and adults with autism face a patchwork quilt of available autism treatment and services across Canada. With 1 in 15o Canadians (using CDC estimates from the US instead of the politicized information available in Canada) being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders it is time that Mr Harper, his health minister of the day and his party's token autism dad Edmonton MP Mike Lake started addressing Canada's autism crisis. The minister's should focus on one objective - establishing a mechanism for transferring federal tax dollars to the provinces specifically to provide evidence based treatment for autism and to provide decent residential care for autistic adults.
Canadian autistic children and adults do not need the same small clique of "autism researchers" conducting the same studies that do nothing to help autistic children or adults. ( Guess: Will Dr. Laurent Mottron and Michelle Dawson publish yet another study proving how smart high functioning "autistics' really are in 2009?). Canadian autism researchers have done nothing to actually help autistic children and adults particularly those at the lower functioning end of the autism spectrum.
Put the money into services that will actually HELP autistic children and adults. Put the money into making ABA available to autistic children wherever their parents live in Canada because studies, and credible (in other words, American) agencies, have found that ABA intervention helps autistic children make serious gains in all domains. Put the money into badly needed services for autistic adults like decent, humane residential care facilities where people matter more than profit.
Stop the silly posturing and help autistic Canadians. Whether Mr Harper believes it or not autistic Canadians are, despite their autism, still Canadians.
Spend some stimulus money helping Canadians with autism disorders Mr. Harper.
That is my stimulus suggestion for our out of touch federal leadership.
Lea and I are completely baffled as to the governments'continuous failing track record.More specifically, when it pertains to the under funding of autism services.
ReplyDeleteIn 2007, the Conservative governmnent ,once again failed the families.The budget surplus (2007) was 4.2 BILLION DOLLARS.We ask ourselves:How in god's name could the Conservative federal government not provide more funding and services for these families and their children? It's about time to use some of the stimulus money where it's desperately needed.
Federal jurisdiction is needed. The present autism structure is not working.There are countless flaws:
-discriminatory age cut-offs
-Autism services and resources are a patchwork job
-Programs under social service departments are plaqued with lack of resources and expertise(skimming the barrel and no proper training).
-Time and time again every province and political party will ignore,make excuses and make broken promises.
-the provinces have been negligent and irresposible on the autism file
Autism knows no borders, therefore federal leadership is needed in creating a National Autism Strategy ,feasable to all persons with autism spectrum disorders. Immediate action for AUTISM NOW.
Good! In 2007, the Conservative governmnent, once again failed the families.The budget surplus (2007) was 4.2 BILLION DOLLARS.We ask ourselves: How in god's name could the Conservative federal government not provide more funding and services for these families and their children? It's about time to use some of the stimulus money where it's desperately needed.
ReplyDeleteSydney
Drug Intervention
Very well said, I hope some of your ideas will come true. At least some of the stimulus money would go to a good cause and help the people that really need it!
ReplyDeleteTake care, Elli