Ontario NDP: McGuinty Government Cutting Children with Autism off IBI (ABA)

Number of Children Awaiting Autism Treatment Balloonslocation: Queen's Parkdate:

October 26, 2009 - 1:00pm

Ontario’s NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is citing more troubling facts concerning the McGuinty government’s approach to treating Ontario children with autism.

“The government is cutting off more children from IBI when schools are not able to provide the therapy. Instead of funding treatment, the government is allowing waiting lists to balloon and children to languish,” Horwath said in the Ontario Legislature today after revealing the government’s latest quarterly numbers for April to June, 2009.Compared to the previous quarter, 1,649 children are now waiting for IBI therapy. That’s 136 more than previously reported (1, 513) and a 9 per cent increase in just three months.

“When will parents see adequate service levels and proper funding for children’s autism treatment?” Horwath demanded of Minister of Children and Youth Services Laurel Broten. “It has been six years. These children and these families cannot wait any longer for this government to get its act together when it comes to the autism file.”The government is cutting off more children from IBI even though schools are not able to provide the therapy, Horwath said. The latest quarterly statistics from the ministry show another 114 children were abruptly cut off.

“The regular quarterly numbers don’t lie. Why are more children with autism waiting for treatment, and why are more children having their autism suddenly cut off and terminated?” Horwath said. “The McGuinty government’s autism program is not living up to the Premier’s promise of ensuring children with autism receive treatment regardless of their age.”
Horwath, the MPP for Hamilton Centre, recently brought the autism file into her portfolio as Ontario’s NDP Critic for Children and Youth Service.

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From House Hansard 10/26/09. The new Minister of Children and Youth Services has spoken:

AUTISM TREATMENT

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is to the Minister of Children and Youth Services. According to her ministry's most recent quarterly numbers, the McGuinty government's autism program is not living up to the Premier's promise of ensuring that children with autism receive treatment regardless of their age. The IBI/ABA numbers for April through June 2009 continue to be troubling. Compared to the previous quarter, 1,649 children are waiting for IBI, 136 more than previously reported, and another 114 children have been abruptly cut off.

Why are more children with autism waiting for treatment, and why are more children having their treatment suddenly cut off and terminated?

1100

Hon. Laurel C. Broten: This is a file where I'm very pleased to be able to build on the work that's been done by our government and a variety of Ministers of Children and Youth Services since we took office in 2003. We've made a lot of progress. Kids are getting the help they need, we've expanded those services, and we're working to make sure that families also have the support they need. We're working to maintain that progress and push ahead, working with parents and experts. Over the last couple of years, we've been examining how we can do better for our kids in Ontario.

I had the opportunity last week to visit Surrey Place and speak directly with the experts and find out how they think we can best help kids in Ontario. There is more work to do-there is always more work to do. We continue to build on the efforts that we've put in place to make sure that Ontario kids get everything they need from our education system and that envelope of services around them.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: It's been six years. These children and these families cannot wait any longer for this government to get its act together when it comes to the autism file.

The regular quarterly numbers don't lie. The government is cutting off more children from IBI when schools are not able to provide the therapy. Instead of funding treatment, the government is allowing waiting lists to balloon and children to languish. When will parents see adequate service levels and proper funding for children's autism treatment?

Hon. Laurel C. Broten: I want to put some key facts on the table. We removed the previous government's age 6 cut-off and more than tripled autism spending, from $44 million to $165 million. We've more than doubled the number of kids getting IBI treatment-more than 1,300 now, up from just over 500 four years ago. We've introduced respite programs that serve almost 7,000 kids. The growing waiting list is not acceptable. That's why we've put more resources into the system.

But I would say that the numbers being brought forward by the leader of the opposition are consistent with numbers that we've seen in the past: 114 kids have completed the services for IBI, and we now have 1,262 kids receiving that service.

We need to get service to more kids. We need to broaden that continuum of support. That's why we're working with world-renowned experts like Peter Szatmari and Nancy Freeman and why we've brought that group of expertise to the table to make sure that kids in our schools get the treatment.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Thank you. New question

.

autism

Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty's Autism Therapy Wait Lists Harm Ontario's Autistic Children

I try to keep this blog site focused on autism and I try to keep it non-partisan despite being a life long Liberal. (With Prime Minister Stephen Harper washing his hands of Canada's autism crisis it is hard to present non-partisan commentary about federal autism initiatives. or lack thereof). In recent elections, provincially and federally, I have shifted toward a strategic voting mind set voting for the candidate, and the party, that is most likely to represent hope for autistic children and adults. As someone who has been a Liberal though I am seriously disappointed by the autism record of the Ontario Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty.

I am proud of New Brunswick's political leaders, both Conservative and Liberal, for what they have done on behalf of autistic children although much remains to be done. Both Conservative and Liberal governments in New Brunwick have failed to date to address the crisis in adult autism residential care and treatment.

One of the best things that happened to my autistic son Conor, was moving from the Toronto (Burlington) area back to New Brunswick in 1997, the year before he received his autism spectrum disorder diagnosis at age 2. At that time there was little in the way of autism services available here in New Brunswick. Determined and focused parent advocacy, access to amazing, community involved academic and professional help and conscientious, responsive political leaders from both Conservative and Liberal parties, have resulted in an autism service delivery model for autistic children in this relatively poor province that has earned national and international recognition. Such sweeping change for the good of autistic children has not taken place in the much larger, and wealthier, province of Ontario. Had we stayed in Ontario in 1997 Conor would not have enjoyed the autism services he has received here in NB. Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty may be many good things but he has not been a friend of autistic children in Ontario.

Attached hereto is a news release from Autism Resolution Ontario which speaks to the situation confronting autistic children in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario:

TORONTO, July 29 /CNW/ - A new documentary on the challenges of one child
with autism in trying to access publicly subsidized autism therapy effectively
captures the Ontario government's inadequate, harmful and discriminatory
autism intervention policies, and raises fresh concerns about the ongoing and
extreme neglect of all children with autism in Ontario waiting to receive this
essential treatment.

 Jaiden's Story: The Struggle for ABA Therapy in Ontario is a brief and
compelling portrait of three-year-old Jaiden, who has been waiting for
provincially funded applied behaviour analysis (ABA) therapy since September
of 2007, and whose family is trying to cope with the government's abandonment
of their son and with the high cost of private ABA therapy.

 "Jaiden needs ABA therapy to learn how to communicate and socialize
appropriately with others, and to function in society. By making my son wait
for years for this crucial therapy, the government is neglecting his basic
developmental needs, severely compromising his future prospects, and
ultimately, violating his fundamental human rights," says Sharon Aschaiek,
mother of Jaiden.

 ABA is the most established, scientifically proven and effective autism
intervention that is widely used by children with autism worldwide. Children
with autism benefit most from ABA when they receive it intensively-about 30
hours a week of one-on-one instruction-beginning in their early years.

 As demonstrated in Jaiden's Story, which can now be seen on the News
section of the ARO site (www.autismresolutionontario.com) or on YouTube
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgLJrIJsOvs), while Jaiden languishes on the waitlist
for the Ontario government's intensive behavioural intervention (IBI)
program-IBI is the early and intensive application of ABA-Aschaiek helps her
son in the only way she can-by paying for private ABA therapy. However, early
intensive ABA is costly: currently, Aschaiek spends about $20,000 a year, and
that cost will increase as Jaiden gets older and is able to participate in
more therapy.

  As a single mother of limited means, Aschaiek was forced to move with her
son into her parents' home in Thornhill to save on cost-of-living expenses.
She now spends almost every cent she makes on therapy for her son, but she
says it's entirely worth it, as Jaiden is making significant developmental
gains with ABA. However, because Ontario government will continue denying
subsidized intervention to Jaiden for many more months or even years, Aschaiek
worries about how she'll pay for Jaiden's future therapy.

  "Even with the minimal amount of ABA therapy I can afford, Jaiden has
advanced so much. Thanks to ABA, he can now express himself much better, and
he's more interested in family and friends," Aschaiek says. "However, when
Jaiden will require $30,000 to $50,000 worth of therapy a year, I won't be
able to afford it. Without receiving enough of the ABA therapy he needs to
develop and function, Jaiden will be at serious risk of losing the skills he's
gained, and failing at school and in adulthood."

  Jaiden is far from alone in his lengthy wait for vital ABA treatment:
currently, about 1,500 children with autism in Ontario are waiting to
participate in the provincial government's subsidized IBI program.
Disturbingly, that's more than the number of children actually receiving it -
about 1,300. About another 400 children are actually waiting to wait - that
is, they are waiting to qualify to get on the IBI program waitlist.

  "The wait for my family has meant that my wife had to resign her job, my
mother exhausted her retirement savings, and we have exhausted all our savings
and retirement funds - all to self-fund/deliver our son's therapy," says
Mississauga-based Barry Hudson, father of Barry, 4. "So, not only does my
son's therapy still need funding, but I, my mother and my wife will require
income supplements in our retirement. In summary: the ABA wait list crisis
equals pay much more later."

  Aschaiek and Hudson are just a couple of the hundreds of highly motivated
parents across the province who are involved Autism Resolution Ontario (ARO),
a new grassroots, non-partisan advocacy initiative working to make publicly
funded ABA therapy more accessible, and to achieve social justice for children
with autism. ARO is leading an ongoing, high-impact, province-wide public
awareness campaign to promote the benefits of ABA as the most proven and
effective autism intervention; to expose the government's neglectful and
discriminatory autism intervention policies; and to promote practical and
cost-effective solutions-based on existing studies and reports-to resolving
the autism crisis in Ontario.

   Jaiden's Story is the first documentary in what is planned to be a
three-part series that will fully explore the most pressing ABA
inaccessibility issues facing children with autism in Ontario and their
families.

   Aschaiek echoes Hudson's sentiment that, ultimately, the Ontario
government's denial of early intensive ABA to children with autism is a
problem that affects everyone, because taxpayers will have to pay millions of
dollars more down the road to sustain these individuals as adults.

   "With sufficient ABA, our children have much better chances of becoming
independent and contributing members of society," Aschaiek says. "Without it,
the government is condemning them to a lifetime of dysfunction and social
services dependency."

For further information: To learn more, or to book an interview with
Sharon Aschaiek or other ARO family members, contact Sharon Aschaiek at (416)
352-8813 or sharon@autismresolutionontario.com

autism

Too Autistic In Ontario Blog

There are many autism blogs on the internet. They vary a great deal in perspective, interests of the blogger, views about cause and treatment and so on. I find them all helpful, even those I disagree with fundamentally, like the Neurodiversity, joy of autism blogs. Very few blogs that I have read though really shake me up.

"Too Autistic In Ontario" by Maryna is one that does.

On reading this blog I am absolutely disgusted to learn that in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario severely autistic children are discharged from Applied Behavior Analysis programs because they are not making enough progress. For these children any progress is a blessing. But the Ontario of Dalton McGuinty has decided to throw these vulnerable children overboard, into the frigid waters of indifference.

The discharge papers of Maryna's son Sebastien can be found at:

Discharge Papers

Premier McGuinty you are one cold, heartless excuse for a human being.

autism

Is Ontario's Autism Shame Contagious?

Ontario NDP health critic France Gelinas has blasted Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government, in an article in the Sudbury Star, for its shameful, on-again, off-again commitment to providing treatment to autistic children, leaving many of them languishing on waiting lists where some never actually graduate to receive treatment.


Ms Gelinas accuses the McGuinty government of closing the door on autistic children in Northern Ontario and leaves no doubt where she, and the Ontario NDP, stand on the issue:

Families have actually left Ontario altogether for Alberta where programs are fully funded. That western province and its comprehensive funding for autism attracted a world autism expert from Ontario. More could follow.

We have a choice to create the kind of Ontario we want. In my Ontario, autism treatment would be fully funded and the children's needs addressed. Along with my MPP colleague, Ontario's NDP Critic for Autism, Andrea Horwath, I believe there should be an immediate increase to the funding of autism services so regional centres can respond to the needs of these children.

To hold back on funding while children and families continue to suffer and struggle is inexcusable.

Each day children with autism languish on waiting lists and are denied access to services is another day that their potential for progress and success is thwarted by the McGuinty government's inaction. We can -- and must -- do better.

Hopefully, the lack of concern for autistic children exhibited by the Ontario government is not contagious. Here in New Brunswick a praiseworthy autism service delivery model for children has been built. But we are hearing rumblings that the next budget will see funding for autism services cut. Hopefully the rumours are wrong and Premier Shawn Graham will continue to back up his expressed concern for autistic children by providing the required funding as he has during the first two years of his term.






autism

Autistic Children "Rotting On The Vine" In Ontario - Why Not Consider "the New Brunswick Autism Model"?

In Wait list for autism therapy growing, critics charge the Star.com reports that "the wait list of autistic children who are eligible to receive intensive behavioural intervention therapy, or IBI, reached 1,148 on March 31, up from 985 last year." NDP critics argue that the government is moving at a slow, even glacial, pace resulting in many children "rotting on the vine" in the words of NDP critic Andrea Horwath who was also quoting parents she had met at a town hall meeting. The article describes spending increases by the McGuinty government but does not really describe a plan for getting children off the autism wait lists.

When I was in Ontario last week, as part of the Medicare for Autism NOW! campaign, I had the privilege of meeting some Ontario parents and discussing autism realities in Ontario. I heard of autistic children facing bureaucratic obstacles, waiting on lists for treatment only to "age out" before receiving treatment; or after just getting started. I mentioned the New Brunswick autism model as one that Ontario might want to consider.

In New Brunswick autism services are far from perfect but we have come far with the effort of determined parents, a sympathetic public and ... responsive political leaders. We have also been fortunate that political leaders of both major political parties in New Brunswick, aside from some exceptions, have tended to be genuine in their desire to help autistic children. So what is "the New Brunswick autism service model" and why is it working? (Yes, there are problems and the need to continually improve but generally we are much better off than Ontario.)

The key to "the New Brunswick autism model" is the University of New Brunswick Autism Intervention Training program offered through UNB's College of Extended Learning. The program provides training for autism support workers and clinical supervisors to provide evidence based interventions to children with autism during the pre-school years. Those interventions are provided by agencies which must be approved by the Department of Social Development and must be accountable for the quality of the services provided. The UNB-CEL AIT has also begun providing similar training to teacher/education aides and resource teachers. We are no longer debating whether ABA can be provided in New Brunswick schools as they are in Ontario. Here it has been happening. My son, Conor, has received ABA based instruction for the past 4 years. The teacher aides providing the instruction in school have been trained at UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training program. While Discrete Trial Training is used for academic instruction, more general ABA principles are also employed in settings such as the school gym.

The UNB-CEL AIT program began as a response to a call for tenders by the Department of Family and Community Services (now the Department of Social Development) to provide pre-school autism intervention services in New Brunswick. It began, literally, at a meeting of the proposed UNB Autism Centre committee of which I was a member. Asked whether the College of Extended Learning could be of assistance Anne Higgins director of professional development at UNB-CEL listed the administrative milestones that would have to be met. Then, like few people I have ever seen, she and her team at UNB-CEL got the things done to meet those targets. The curriculum and instruction quality were overseen and assured by Clinical Psychologist and Professor Emeritus (Psychology) Paul McDonnell. With other Autism Society and parent reps on the committee we saw the program established from the outset and have complete confidence in the quality and integrity of the program. The program is continually evolving with input from the Departments of Social Development and Education and from the autism community.

A couple of years ago I was offered employment in the Toronto area with a labour organization whose leadership I had already worked with. It was really a dream job but I turned it down. In part because I grew up attending as many as three schools in one year as an "army brat" and my two sons had both had the opportunity to attend the same grade school and middle school without moving from place to place. But the biggest reason for not wanting to move was the fact that Conor was receiving ABA based school instruction from an aide trained at UNB-CEL using programs designed and overseen by a teacher who had received the Clinical Supervisor training at UNB-CEL. He has now had almost 4 years of such education and I am glad, for his sake, I decided to stay in New Brunswick.

I don't know if the Ontario bureaucrats would consider developing the New Brunswick model in Ontario for pre-school and school age children. Nor do I know if parents would want that. In Ontario they seem hung up on the IBI versus ABA labels a distinction without a real difference. But if autistic children are "rotting on the vine" in Ontario they might want to at least take a look at what we have done right here in New Brunswick.

If the people in Ontario are interested in what has happened in New Brunswick they might want to consider the CAUCE 2008 sessions, session five, on May 30 at the University of Western Ontario. Anne Higgins and Sheila Burt from UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training will be participating and speaking about the pivotal role of UNB-CEL in providing multi-partnered, systematized autism intervention services.

autism

Autism In Ontario Election 2007

Autism appears to be an impact issue in the current Ontario election campaign. On the first day of October, which is the Autism Awareness month in Canada, the Globe and Mail has an article on autism in the campaign which also highlights NDP candidate and autism mother Nancy Morrison. Ms. Morrison is the mother to whom Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty promised help for autistic children in the 2003 campaign before breaking the promise and fighting parents of autistic children in court.

"Mr. McGuinty promised in the letter to end the previous Progressive Conservative government's "unfair and discriminatory" practice of cutting off funding when children turned 6. "These children need - and deserve - our help and support," the letter says.

The problem for Mr. McGuinty is that Ms. Morrison kept her end of the bargain and he didn't."

- Karen Howlett, Globe and Mail, Plight of Autistic Children Resonates in Campaign

It would be great if the NDP or Conservative Parties formed the government, or held the balance of power in a minority government. A lot could change in the week and a half left in the election campgain. Right now though it is looking like another McGuinty Majority. And that would mean 4 years of keeping the pressure on Dalton McGuinty to provide real help for autistic children. If that happens then, hopefully, Nancy Morrison will be sitting as an MPP in the Ontario Legislature to see to it that Mr. McGuinty provides real help to autistic children.

Facing Autism in New Brunswick Hesitant Ontario Election Prediction - 4 More years of McGuinty and more broken autism promises.

Hopeful Note - I also picked Bob Rae to win the Liberal Party nomination, Ottawa to beat Anaheim in the Stanley Cup finals last spring, and France to beat Italy for the World Cup.

What about the kids with autism who you fought in court, using taxpayers money?

What about the kids with autism who you fought in court, using taxpayers money?

- Conservative leader John Tory to Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty

Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty took a lot of heat during the Ontario leaders debate this evening over his record of broken promises during his first term as Premier of Ontario including the shot from Conservative John Tory above. McGuinty's broken autism promise was also featured in the Conservative leader's opening statement video which featured Tory with a mother of an autistic child who accused McGuinty of breaking his promise to help her child. Tory says : "Broken promises have consequences for families like Kathy's. I want to earn your trust."

Hopefully, autism will not be just a political attack point during the election. Hopefully, all party leaders will remember the autism issue when the next Government of Ontario is seated.

Autism Debate Heats Up Ontario Election

Autism issues are heating up the Ontario election campaign, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the Ontario Autism Coalition, which has been very well organized and effective in getting autism issues in front of political participants. Today the NDP and Liberals squared off over the issues of age cut off and school provision of ABA/IBI services for autistic children.

The Canadian Press is reporting a commitment by NDP leader Howard Hampton to provide publicly funded Intensive Behavioral Intervention in classrooms for all autistic children. The NDP has committed to providing IBI therapy for an autistic child from the day they qualify and an end to waiting lists. Children and Youth Services Minister Mary Anne Chambers retorts however that there simply aren't enough trained autism support workers to provide one on one treatment to every child who needs it.

In New Brunswick we have faced the same issues over the past several years. The UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training program grew out of the need to train Autism Support Workers and Clinical Supervisors in the pre-school and school years. That training has been taking place over the past several years with training of another 100 Teacher Aides (Autism Support Workers) and Resource Teachers (Clinical Supervisors) scheduled to start in October. Premier Shawn Graham and Education Minister Kelly Lamrock have committed to train another 300 TA's and teachers over the next 3 years. In proportion to Ontario's population that would be roughly the equivalent of a commitment to train a further 4,000 Autism Support Workers and Clinical Supervisors to work in Ontario schools. We are very confident that New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and Education Minister Kelly Lamrock will keep their promise to New Brunswick's autistic school children.

The McGuinty government should quit making excuses for why they can't address the needs of Ontario's autistic children, stop breaking promises, stop fighting parents in court and buckle down and get to work helping autistic children. Maybe Ontario parents will decide to Get Orange and vote for the NDP.

As the Ontario Autism Coalition has said so succinctly - No More Excuses!

Autism Mom Nancy Morrison Gets Political

Nancy Morrison is the NDP candidate for York-Simcoe in the Ontario Election 2007. She is also the mother of two children, including eight year old son Sean who is autistic. Nancy is the "autism mom" who wrote to then Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty during the last Ontario provincial election campaign asking for help for her autistic son. Mr McGuinty promised to help. You know the rest of the story. Promise broken. Court fights to prevent families from obaining services for their autistic children. Court costs pursued against the families of autistic children that Mr McGuinty had promised to help.

Nancy is not taking the Promise Breaker's betrayal lying down. She is getting political in a big way, running as the NDP candidate for York-Simcoe in the Ontario Election. She has herself gone out on a limb and stated that she has full confidence in Howard Hampton and the NDP autism platform:

"I have been in discussion with him about what they will be doing, and I want the party to be able to release their stuff when they choose to release it," Morrison said.

Asked how other parents with autistic children can trust the party when they don't know what's planned, Morrison replied: "They will know what the party plans to do in the next two days ... I am very reassured. I have no worries at all about what the platform will be with the NDP."

Good luck on October 10th Nancy!

No Autism Proposals, So Far, In Ontario Election

Autism, not surprisingly, has become a hot issue in the Ontario election with both opposition parties slamming Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty's notorious about face on autism as reported in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. But so far there has been little indication of autism plans or proposals put forth by any of the parties. That could change in the next few days though, according to the report in the Toronto Star , which noted that NDP leader Howard Hampton, after slamming McGuinty, still wasn't ready to announce his party's autism plans:

Hampton had no problem putting his $7.50 in Gabison's bowl but he wasn't willing to say exactly what his party would do for autistic children if elected.

Parents will have to wait "a couple of days" to hear his plans, he said.

...

Nancy Morrison - who received the promise letter from McGuinty in the last election — is now the NDP candidate in York Simcoe.

Parents will like what they hear from Hampton on autism, she said.

Autism Promise Breaker - Can He Be Trusted?

Autism Promise Breaker, Ontario Liberal leader, and current Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty, is being ripped for his infamous broken autism pledge by his opponent, Conservative Leader John Tory, in the press release which follows this comment. McGuinty did not just break his autism pledge, he fought tooth and nail the very parents of autistic children he had pledged to help. Can Dalton McGuinty be trusted - by anyone? Ontario voters will answer that question in Ontario Election 2007.








Photo - CBC



JOHN TORY 2007 CAMPAIGN:

Dalton McGuinty's Record on Autism

    TORONTO, Sept. 7 /CNW/ - For a politician who claims he wants to run on
his record and who claims that he's "being straight with people," Dalton
McGuinty sure has a funny way of showing it.

 <<>>

 Now, on the eve of an election, Dalton McGuinty is making yet another
promise to children with autism. And if, as he's so fond of saying, the best
predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour, then why should the parents
of autistic children trust Dalton McGuinty?

 Leadership Matters.

For further information: Mike Van Soelen, (647) 722-1760

Ontario Autism Coalition Ask Letter

The Ontario Autism Coalition is determined to get the political parties on the record in the Ontario Election 2007 with clear, specific answers to important autism questions. Ontario autism families were burned the last time out by the Promise Breaker, Ontario Liberal Leader and current Premier, Dalton McGuinty. The OAC will not be fooled in this election and is working hard at forging a political-social-moral contract with each party with respect to autism issues in Ontario. The precedent set by the OAC could be helpful in other elections across Canada, including the federal election expected, by some, to take place in the next year.


Ontario Autism Coalition Member Update September 05, 2007

Please distribute to all lists.

Formal Presentation of OAC "Ask" to All Political Parties in Ontario The Ontario Autism Coalition (OAC) is a grassroots organization with over 600 active members throughout the Province of Ontario. Our members are connected to thousands of families and supporters affected by autism. The OAC is determined to ensure the delivery of services and supports to families and individuals with Autism in the Province of Ontario. As political parties in the Province of Ontario prepare for a Provincial election this fall, the OAC seeks commitment from all Provincial parties and has therefore sent the following letter to the leaders of each party (Liberal, PC, NDP, Green Party) and has asked for their response in writing by September 14, 2007. The OAC will then communicate their responses with the entire autism community and the media.

From: Laura Kirby-McIntosh To: dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org; kwynne.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org; gsmitherman.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org; michael.bryant@jus.gov.on.ca; john.toryco@pc.ola.org; christine.elliott@pc.ola.org; frank_klees@ontla.ola.org; lisa.macleod@pc.ola.org Cc: ndpmail@ndp.on.ca; nancymorrison@ontariondp.com; cheridinovo@ontariondp.com; francegelinas@ontariondp.com; vserda@bmts.com; gpoadmin@magma.ca; lhelferty@sympatico.ca

Sent: Tuesday, September 4, 2007 10:08:52 PM
Subject: Ontario Autism Coalition: REQUEST FOR POLICY INFORMATION

Dear Candidate(s):

As we near the official start of the provincial election campaign, I am writing to you on behalf of the Ontario Autism Coalition (the "OAC") to ask for information on your party's autism policy.

The OAC is a grassroots advocacy group made up of concerned parents, relatives and friends of children with autism. The group formed in 2005 and has since grown into an Ontario-wide organization with over 600 members. We receive no government funding, and we are not a charity. We are focused on direct political action to bring about positive changes for our children. Between 2005 and 2007, the OAC organized over 20 rallies to draw public attention to the need for publicly funded programs that effectively meet the needs of individuals in the Autism community. The OAC has also met with numerous government policy advisors, senior provincial Cabinet Ministers and M.P.P.’s from each of Ontario’s three major political parties.

The OAC is committed to placing autism issues front and centre in the upcoming provincial election campaign. We will be hosting events, issuing press releases and organizing parents throughout the upcoming weeks to ensure that all candidates—as well as our fellow citizens—are aware of our concerns.

The OAC is asking for a written response from you and your party to the following three points:

1) We want the next provincial government to allow Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) instructor therapists currently working within the Autism Intervention Program (AIP) entry into the school system so that scientifically valid, supervised Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) can be implemented. Children receiving intensive ABA through the AIP and students attending school should receive the same quality of ABA services.

2) We want the next provincial government to eliminate the wait list in the AIP and fully fund services for all children with Autism—from the mild to severe end of the Autism Spectrum.

3) We want the next provincial government to develop a formal credentialing system and a proper training and recruitment system for the implementation of ABA to ensure accountability and capacity within the system.

We are sending this request not only to you, but to all parties—Liberal, Progressive Conservative, New Democrat and Green. We would appreciate receiving an official response from you no later than Friday, September 14, 2007. Your leaders and/or local candidates are also welcome to respond by attending our Autism Day of Action the following day. On Saturday, September 15th, we’ll be holding events in several different cities—you can get more details by visiting our website at http://www.ontarioautismcoalition.com.

While we are happy to receive any feedback you may wish to share, we encourage you to respond specifically to the three points we’ve mentioned above. We will post your responses on our website and share them with our members and with the public over the course of the campaign. If you have any documents, links or video messages you would like us to place on our website, we would be happy to receive them as well.

If you have any questions or if you are interested in meeting in person, please feel free to contact me. Enjoy the campaign!

Sincerely,

Laura Kirby-McIntosh
Co-founder, Ontario Autism Coalition
Phone: 905-761-5226
E-mail: mailto:tosh555@hotmail.com

Autism Dart In Ontario Politics

Autism has become a handy dart to be thrown by the opposition at Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. The Promise Breaker opened himself up to attacks on his character by his stunning reversal on his pledge to aid autistic children, even going to court to fight the parents of autistic children he had pledged to help. The Premier had no qualms about giving money out to other groups even giving $1 Million in taxpayer funds to a cricket club that had asked for only $150,000. Now Conservative Opposition leader John Tory is throwing darts, including an autism dart, at the Promise Breaker. In Tories on the Attack the Toronto Sun reports:

The John Tory Conservatives took to the radio airwaves yesterday with a series of negative ads tackling the record of the Dalton McGuinty government.

In one spot on the so-called Colle-gate scandal, Tory talks about a controversial $1-million grant to a cricket club that had asked for $150,000. The Opposition leader criticizes the Liberals for sending taxpayer dollars to some groups that later revealed Grit connections.

"Mr. McGuinty just sent your money to his friends while kids with autism, families without doctors and farmers in trouble were told there was none," Tory says in one of five different ads.

The Promise Breaker deserves the heat he is getting for his betrayal of parents of autistic children but those parents should look for more than attack ads from Tory's Tories on the autism front. They would be wise, despite being betrayed by the Promise Breaker last time around, to again seek clear commitments from ALL party leaders on their autism plans. Then they will at least have something they can use to hold the next Premier accountable. Autism should be treated by all leaders like the serious matter that it is; not just an election dart to be thrown at political adversaries - no matter how much they deserve it.

Ontario Autism Coalition Rejects McGuinty's Autism Half Measures

In Ontario the Dalton McGuinty Liberal government has announced a raft of measures, on the eve of Ontario election 2007, to address the needs of autistic children in Ontario.

The Ontario Autism Coalition has responded pointing out a number of deficiencies in the announced plan - including wait times for autistic children to receive treatment measured in years rather than weeks.

In addition education policies which effectively prevent Intensive Behavioral Intervention from being used in public schools are also condemned. The OAC describes the announced plan as little more than half measures and partial solutions. Meanwhile, Autism Ontario which receives $1.5million under the plan, to provide respite services, including a web site, gave the announcement a very positive review.










The Ontario government Press Release:

McGuinty Government Investing In More Services For Children And Youth With Autism

    Increasing The Number Of Children Receiving IBI, Providing Relief
Services For Thousands Of Families

TORONTO, Aug. 17 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government is investing more than
$12 million this year to provide Intensive Behaviour Intervention treatment
for 210 more children and youth with autism, bringing the total number of
children receiving the specialized care to approximately 1,400 - a 160 per
cent increase since 2004, Minister of Children and Youth Services Mary Anne
Chambers announced today.

"Our government has been taking steps to increase the capacity of the
sector by training and recruiting more therapists for kids with autism," said
Chambers. "As a result of our capacity building efforts more children with
autism will have access to Intensive Behaviour Intervention therapy and more
families will have access to much needed respite services."

With the government's policy of not discharging kids from the Intensive
Behaviour Intervention program on the basis of age, the resulting increased
demand is being addressed by building a continuum of service for children and
youth with autism and their families and by more than tripling annual support
since 2003-04 to more than $140 million in 2007-08.

In addition to taking 210 children off IBI wait lists, the $12 million in
additional funding announced today will be used to hire more IBI therapists
and provide temporary relief services to more than 3,000 families across the
province.

"I am very pleased that over 200 additional IBI spots have been funded
while children over age 6 continue to remain in this program," said Tammy
Starr, a parent of a child with autism. "I have confidence that Minister
Chambers and her ministry will ensure that families will be able to access
these services quickly and that children will be receiving high quality
treatment."

"Autism Ontario is encouraged to see this additional investment in
support of children and families with autism. Respite services are so vitally
important for families dealing with the day to day challenges of autism and
Autism Ontario is pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Government
and parents to further understand and deliver respite options that meet the
unique needs of families from communities across the province," said Deborah
Kitchen, President of Autism Ontario.

"We have listened and learned from families, service providers and
specialists, that our efforts to provide supports and services for children
and youth with autism spectrum disorders need to consider the incredible
demands placed on families involved," said Chambers. "I have seen the enormous
benefits that our government's support for respite services, including summer
camps, provides for both parents and children alike."
Other ways the government is working together with community partners to
support children and youth with autism include:

-   No longer discharging children from the Autism Intervention Program
on the basis of age and assessing all children referred to the program,
regardless of age

- Creating the Ontario College Graduate Certificate Program
in Autism and Behavioural Science and increasing the number of qualified
professionals graduating from the program to at least 220 by 2008-09;   
the program is being expanded to include three more colleges, bringing the
total number of colleges participating to 12 across the province, effective
September 2007. More than 200 trained therapists have graduated from the program
province wide since 2006

-   Hiring nearly 300 new therapists since 2004

-   Reducing the number of children waiting for assessment for the Autism
Intervention Program by 752 or 69 per cent since 2004

-   Through the Geneva Centre for Autism, training up to 1,600 resource staff in the child care sector
and child care workers and 5,000 educational assistants who work with children
with autism

- Providing nearly $6 million in further investments to support school
boards in providing Applied Behaviour Analysis for students who need it beginning
in the 2007-08 school year

- Investing $530,000 in summer 2007 to help send more than 800 children and youth
with autism to supportive camp environments


- Providing  $900,000 over three years to expand www.respiteservices.com, a
centralized website operated by the Geneva Centre for Autism. Effective September
2007, the site will link 35 communities across the province, providing information
on relief services to families caring for an individual with a disability,
including autism

The Ontario Autism Coalition recognizes that 210 new program spaces and
funding for respite is most welcome, but the OAC is still concerned
about the growth in the wait list and the lack of IBI in schools.
Increases in funding?including today?s announcement?have barely kept
pace with the growth in the wait list. The Minister says that as of July
2007, there were 1,082 children waiting for IBI, up from 985 in the fall
of 2006. This was despite Minister Chambers? last announcement of 225
new spaces in January of 2007. More information about growth in the
wait list can be found at http://www.soaringhorse.com.
The bottom line: wait times for children with autism are still measured
in years, not weeks.

The OAC has repeatedly pointed out that the wait list could be eliminated
if money was targeted through direct funding to families and if the
Ministry of Education would allow special education funding to be used
for IBI in schools. This is done is many other jurisdictions across
North America.

The need for the Ministry of Education to step up to help children with
autism in schools is clear. 60% of children currently on the IBI
wait list are of school age, as are 45% of the children on the wait list.
Minister of Education Kathleen Wynne announced in March 2007, that ABA
would be introduced in Ontario schools, 3 ½ years after Premier Dalton
McGuinty promised to do so. But she also indicated that the intensity
that is so important for children with autism would not be required, and
that not all school boards would be prepared for September 2007.

Students in Ontario are able to access many accommodations for
education, such as speech therapy, occupational therapy. Children with
autism are specifically prevented from accessing IBI, the
best-researched, most effective method of teaching, in a memo from
Deputy Minister of Education Ben Levin issued in March, 2007 (The memo
can be read at http://www.ontarioautism.com/Documents.html). IBI
instructor therapists are still barred from entering the schools to
support children with Autism.

Families touched by autism do not need half measures and partial
solutions. We need a wholehearted embrace of the best teaching methods
for children with autism.

Autism Parents in Ontario Furious With Liberal Government

Judging by some of the responses to a question asked by the Toronto Star there are many people, including parents of autistic children, who are furious with the spending decisions of the Liberal government of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Will family members of autistic children in Ontario get political and send the Liberals a ballot box commentary on how their children have been treated?



The Star asked whether the auditor general's report about grants to Ontario's multicultural groups will make you less likely to vote for the Liberals this fall.

Some of the responses as reported on TheStar.com at:





Jul 30, 2007 04:42 PM

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/241399

I actually decided against voting Liberal this time when I read your report regarding the spending of $2.4 million of taxpayer money fighting a seven-year court battle against the parents of autistic children.
Carolyn Hood, Toronto

As the parent of a 6-year-old with autism who has been cut off from provincial services by a mean-spirited and reactionary provincial government, I am disgusted that $32 million was available to squander with a wink and a nod while services to families of children with disabilities are woefully underfunded or non-existent. Even to access the pittances available requires us to jump through endless hoops to satisfy requirements. This is in marked contrast to the ease in which Minister Colle handed out his grants.
Robert Shalka, Orleans, Ont.

As a parent of an autistic child, I find the government’s funding conducts outrageous and sickening. While my son is waiting to receive treatment he needs desperately, the government rushed to hand money to people who don’t need it. How can you tell kids like my son to wait, while giving money to people to put in the bank? Julie Lin, Toronto

McGuinty's $2.4 Million Broken Autism Promise

[Image from Chris Peters Web Marketer site]

"success is largely about keeping your promises."

[Seth Godin's BLOG]

Forced by the courts to fess up the government of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has admitted that it spent $2.4 million in court costs fighting parents who were seeking the help for their autistic children that Mr. McGuinty promised on the campaign trail. Unfortunately Mr. McGuinty's actions were not unprecedented. In British Columbia Liberal leader Gordon Campbell condemned the decision by the NDP government of the day to appeal the Auton decision. Then, within 90 days of forming the government, the Campbell Liberals announced that its government would press on with the appeal in order to avoid setting a bad legal precedent. Apparently neither Mr. McGuinty, nor Mr. Campbell, considered the moral precedents they were setting by breaking their promises to the parents of autistic children. Is it any wonder that Autism parents have decided to GET POLITICAL and target swing ridings in the impending federal election? The Supreme Court of Canada has removed the Canadian Constitution as a meaningful protection for autistic children. And the Liberal Premiers of two of Canada's most populous and prosperous provinces have shown that their word can not be trusted. Political activity, hard cold, ruthless if necessary, political activity is all that is left for parents of autistic children seeking access to health, education and residential care services for their children.

NDP outraged over McGuinty's $2.4 million broken promise

    QUEEN'S PARK, July 17 /CNW/ - NDP MPP Shelley Martel is outraged that the
McGuinty government spent $2.4 million on lawyers to fight parents of children
with autism in court, instead of providing IBI treatment that Dalton McGuinty
promised them.
  "It's scandalous that Dalton McGuinty squandered $2.4 million of public
money on lawyers in a cynical attempt to break an election promise made to
children with autism. That money could have funded IBI treatment for
50 children for a year," said Martel.
  Martel said Dalton McGuinty should never have dragged parents and their
vulnerable children through the courts, at great expense to the public and the
families, just so he could break a promise.
  "It's appalling that Dalton McGuinty's priority was to waste millions of
dollars of public money fighting parents in court, instead of providing
children with autism with the treatment they needed," said Martel.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2007/17/c7369.html

Ontario Superior Court Rejects Government Bid to Conceal Autism Lawsuit Costs

In a decision which could have embarrassing political costs for the government of Autism Promise Breaker Dalton McGuinty a three justice panel of the Ontario Superior Court has rejected the government's bid to keep secret the legal costs it incurred in fighting a lawsuit brought by parents seeking therapy for their autistic children. The parents were seeking in the courts what they felt had been promised them by Premier McGuinty while he was campaigning. It is interesting to note in the following Canadian Press report of the decision that government lawyers advanced arguments before the court which they had not made before the Privacy Commisioner whose decision was the subject of the judicial review proceedings. As the matter proceeded through the legal process the McGuinty government became ever more determined - or desperate - to continue concealing the costs to taxpayers of his decision to fight the parents who were seeking help for their autistic children - children Mr. McGuinty had promised to help.

Court rejects bid to conceal autism lawsuit costs

Canadian Press

TORONTO — The Superior Court of Justice has rejected a government request to conceal how much it spent fighting a lawsuit filed by parents of autistic children.

New Democrat Shelley Martel filed a request under the province's Freedom of Information law to find out the cost of the province's legal bills in fighting a lawsuit that sought intensive autism therapy for children over the age of six.

Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian ruled earlier this year that the government should release the total by March 8, but the attorney general's ministry sought a judicial review of that decision.

On Monday, a panel of three judges rejected the government's application and said Crown lawyers tried to build some of its case based on arguments that were not presented to Cavoukian's office, and therefore weren't valid in court.

The lawyers had argued the government's legal bills were covered by solicitor-client privilege and shouldn't be disclosed. They told the court that disclosing the fees would set a precedent that would apply to all lawyers and their clients across the province.

Martel had argued the costs were a matter of public interest. She said the government could have better spent that money on treatment for children, rather than fighting families in court.

The judges also rejected another government application for a judicial review into a case involving funding for a test for a rare form of eye cancer.

Cavoukian's office had ordered that the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care disclose how much it spent on a series of appeals involving reimbursement for the cost of the testing.

Auton's Other Shoe Falls in Ontario - Autism Parents Get Political

In the Auton decision the Supreme Court of Canada denied the protection of the equality provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights to autistic children in need of Applied Behavior Analysis treatment for their autistic condition. That decision was part of a long trend of cases by which the Supreme Court articulated a judicial policy of deference to government decision making on issues involving the public purse.

With the courts and legal process effectively denied by the Auton decision, a decision confirmed in its effect, if not in legal theory, by the Deskin-Wyneberg case out of Ontario, parents of autistic children seeking access to services for their children are getting political in a big way. The following story describes the intention of autism parents in Ontario - they are going to politically dog the steps of the Promise Breaker - Dalton McGuinty.

Parents will dog McGuinty campaign

Sun, July 15, 2007

The ABCs of Ontario Election 2007. The first in an ongoing series examining the issues in the countdown to the Oct. 10 vote, beginning with autism.

By ANTONELLA ARTUSO, SUN MEDIA QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU CHIEF

TORONTO -- Premier Bob Rae's re-election bid was dogged by social-contract-hating protesters.

Giant flip-flops followed Liberal Lyn McLeod around during the 1995 campaign to spotlight same-sex rights.

Mike Harris was swarmed by Kraft Dinner-throwing poverty protesters in 1999.

Now, Premier Dalton McGuinty can expect to find his election steps haunted by a group of parents who intend to make autism front and centre in the coming provincial campaign, which gets officially underway on Sept. 10.

Richmond Hill's Taline Sagharian, the mother of a 10-year-old son, told Sun Media last week this new group is determined to play a "very strong" advocacy role in the election, bringing the issue directly to the politicians on the hustings.

"It's a small group of families right now, but it's snowballing," she said. "It's going to be a new and different thing."

The group is in its infancy -- members are still choosing a name -- and it's debating a number of possible actions.

In particular, they're focusing on issues around Intensive Behavioural Intervention therapy (IBI): The long waiting list for government support, the gap between what the government pays and what the service actually costs, and the lack of IBI in public schools.

With these supports, children with autism can lead more rewarding and productive lives, Sagharian said.

Without access to this expensive but effective form of therapy, children with autism may face a bleaker future in even more costly group homes.

---

WHAT THE LEADERS SAY

- Dalton McGuinty (Liberal): "I'd ask Ontarians to take a look at what we inherited and what we've done so far. There were no services available for children once they reached the age of six; they were cut off. That was a Tory policy. We've changed that. Furthermore, there were no services available in our schools. We've changed that as well. We've more than doubled the funding available for our children who are affected by autism." (Sept. 25, 2006)

- John Tory (PC): "We're going to do what we say we will do. Clear the waiting lists, respect parents, and give vulnerable children the support they need -- these steps will be job No. 1. People will be able to rely on my word." (Feb. 23, 2007)

- Howard Hampton (NDP): "Children with autism and their families need action, not buck-passing. They need someone to stand up for them and their kids. I am calling on Dalton McGuinty to do the right thing and extend IBI treatment to every child who needs it without delay. It's only fair." (June 27, 2007)

Privilege Can Be Waived - McGuinty Government IS Fighting Children With Autism And Their Parents

The Promise Breaker


There are few privileges more sacrosanct in our common law heritage than that of solicitor-client privilege. It is a central element of our system of justice. It permits clients to share information vital to their case with their lawyers in confidence that the information will not be disclosed to opposing parties. Without such confidence it would be difficult for our legal system to function properly. The McGuinty government is advancing a powerful argument in its dispute with NDP MLA Shelley Martel and parents of autistic children seeking to know how much money the McGuinty government spent fighting the autistic children and their parents that Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty had once, before becoming Premier, promised to help. But, privilege must be examined in the context of the case at issue. This case is about a government leader who turned his back upon, and fought with public monies, those he had once promised to help.

The lawyer for the Crown, the McGuinty government, is well within her rights, or more properly, her client's rights, to advance solicitor-client privilege as an argument in the Crown's case. She is wrong however, simply wrong, when she says that "This is not about fighting children with autism and their parents". That is exactly what this entire proceeding is about.

This case is about Dalton McGuinty, the candidate for Premier of Ontario who campaigned on a promise to help autistic children who, once wearing the Premier's Crown, broke his promise and went further. The "Honourable" Premier then turned his legal guns on the parents and autistic children he had promised to help. The Supreme Court of Canada in the Auton case effectively removed the Charter of Rights as a means of protecting the equality interests of autistic children. In Auton the SCC made it clear that governments, not courts, will decide whether autistic children will receive treatment for their condition. As weak as the Auton decision was in its characterization and understanding of autism and Applied Behavior Analysis, the decision was crystal clear on its central point - government decides how public monies will be spent.

Mr. McGuinty, once Premier, failed to keep his word. Instead of spending public funds on treating autistic children as he had promised, he and his government decided to spend public monies fighting autistic children and their parents in court to make sure they would NOT get the public funds for treatment he had once promised them. The fact is privilege, if it applies to disclosure of legal fees, which is not entirely clear, can be waived. The McGuinty government could waive the solicitor client privilege issue and disclose to the public and to the parents he had once promised to help the amount of public monies, in part at least the parents own monies, that he spent fighting them. As the SCC said in Auton governments decide how public monies will be spent. It is government which must also then be responsible to at least account for how they are spent.

Waiving privilege, being open with the public and with the parents of autistic children, is an option. Waiving privilege might disclose legal strategies. The strategies however would not seem all that important now that the Charter is no longer available to effectively help autistic children and other disadvantaged groups. The real issue is that waiver of privilege would almost certainly result in the disclosure of information embarrassing to Mr. McGuinty, the promise breaking Premier of Ontario.

The argument before the court IS about solicitor client privilege as the government lawyer argued. It is ALSO about political embarrassment. It is ALSO very much about fighting autistic children, and their parents, the very people Ontario Premier McGuinty had promised to help.



Families of autistic kids seek provincially funded treatment

NDP health critic asks: How much did Ontario `squander' on litigation?
Jun 19, 2007 04:30 AM

Tracey Tyler

LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER

Nancy Morrison re-mortgaged her home four times to pay for therapy for her 8-year-old autistic son.

At the same time, the Ontario government was waging a court battle against families seeking provincially-funded treatment for their autistic children.

"Our family has gone broke while the government has gone on fighting," she said.

That experience prompted Morrison to come from Bradford to the Divisional Court in Toronto yesterday to support NDP health critic Shelley Martel, who is trying to find out how much the Ontario government spent on legal fees contesting two lawsuits known as the Wynberg and Deskin cases.

Instead of "squandering" money on the litigation which ended earlier this year, the province should have funded therapy for autistic children, Martel contends.

She won the first round in April, when Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner ordered the attorney-general to disclose the total amounts spent on legal fees and disbursements in the cases.

But lawyers for the province were before the Divisional Court yesterday appealing that decision. "This is not about fighting children with autism and their parents," Crown counsel Kim Twohig argued.

The real issue is preserving the sanctity of solicitor-client privilege, which protects communications between a lawyer and client, including legal bills, she told Justices Dennis Lane, Sidney Lederman and Katherine Swinton.

Legal fees can reveal a lot, including trial strategies, the Crown contends. In the Wynberg and Deskin cases, for example, the attorney-general apportioned the cost of its legal services to various ministries – including education and long-term care – by assessing which ministries were at greatest risk of being held responsible for breaching the families' Charter rights, the court was told.

Crown counsel Sarah Wright argued that an astute observer or knowledgeable lawyer could use that information to "know where to catch the Crown flat-footed."

But Martel's lawyer, Frank Addario, said his client has been "extremely clear" that "she wants the totals" from the government's legal bills – "not the dates, time and information about who did what."

In the Wynberg and Deskin cases, about 30 families claimed the Ontario government was in breach of the Charter by failing to provide treatment programs for autistic children over age 6.

After the families won at trial in 2005, the government began funding therapy for older children, which continues even though the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the trial judge's finding last year.

But treatment programs are not available in schools – a key issue in several ongoing cases, including two proposed class action lawsuits and 100 complaints now before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.

The court reserved its decision.

http://www.thestar.com/article/226868

Ontario Rescues Autism Summer Camp from Harper Funding Cuts

The Liberal government of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has stepped in to announce it would provide funding to ensure that a summer camp for autistic children remained open after it had been announced that the federal Conservative government of Stephen Harper was cutting funding for the camp. Stephen Harper cutting funding for autistic children? No surprise there.

Ontario rescues camp for autistic children

May 18, 2007 04:30 AM
bruce campion-smith
ottawa burea

OTTAWA–While a Toronto camp for autistic children will now go ahead this summer after Queen's Park came to the rescue, hundreds of other community projects across Canada are in doubt because they are being refused funding to hire students by the federal Conservatives.

...

But Ontario wasted no time yesterday in announcing it would help run the Yes I Can! camp.

Mary Anne Chambers, Ontario's minister of children and youth services, said she was moved to act after reading in yesterday's Star that Ottawa had rejected the camp's funding request.

"We will make sure that that summer camp continues for these kids," Chambers told the Legislature.

"We, the government of Ontario, will invest the $38,000 that they have lost in order to ensure that these kids can continue to have a summer camp," she said.

For more than a decade, the school has relied on federal funding to hire student counsellors to run a camp for up to 65 pre-schoolers with autism as well as low-income kids.

Janet MacDougall, the school's executive director, said she was grateful for the province's offer although she hadn't been given official word last night.

"I am so grateful they are coming to the party," MacDougall said.

She said the provincial cash was welcomed, especially since she's been pushing Queen's Park for three years to provide funding for her school.

MacDougall says she was overwhelmed by the response to the Star article, including calls from the offices of federal Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, provincial Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory and countless Star readers, all keen to donate cash or offer their help to keep the camp open.

Bert Levy offered up $9,500 from the Orion Foundation, a charity that assists people with disabilities, to kickstart the community fundraising.

"They're stepping on the very weakest of our people. Makes you wonder," he said of Ottawa's decision to reject the funding request to help autistic kids."

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/215326