Previous Editions of YQP

What was said in the Ontario Legislature on issues of concern to the Jewish Community.
In the Ontario Legislature – May 13, 2008

In today's edition -- please scroll down to find more information on:
1. Oral Questions: Autism Treatment


*****

ORAL QUESTIONS

AUTISM TREATMENT
Ms. Andrea Horwath ahorwath-qp@ndp.on.ca:
"My question is for the Minister of Children and Youth Services, and it goes like this: Why has the McGuinty government driven a desperate parent to stage a hunger strike over the lack of publicly funded treatment for children with autism? And why has her government taken so long to clear the waiting list of over 1,500 children in this province? The question is very basic: When is this waiting list going to be cleared?"

Hon. Deborah Matthews dmatthews.mpp@liberal.ola.org: "Let me start by saying that I have met with Mr. Marinoiu twice in the last several days. I met with him on the front lawn of Queen's Park and then I met him in my office. I can assure you that my ministry staff are working hard with him and his family to make sure that that he is getting all of the supports that his family is entitled to."

"I can tell you that I understand how important it is to him and to all parents who have children with autism that we continue to improve services for children with autism. I am absolutely committed to improving services for children with autism. The work that has been done by parents from all parts of the province on this issue continues to encourage us in our work to improve services for children with autism in this province."

Ms. Andrea Horwath: "This minister knows that the reality is that the wait list in Ontario keeps on growing. Parents don't feel that their services are being improved at all. Stefan Marinoiu's hunger strike is a drastic action directly related to the fact that these parents don't think that services are improving in Ontario. Parents came from all over the province today to send this government a message that this life-and-death action that Stefan is taking is something they're here to support, because they need some action on this file and they need it now. Their children are languishing on waiting lists in Ontario. They're not getting the IBI, the intervention and the treatment that they need and deserve in this province. The government is indifferent to their needs."

"After half a decade, why is nothing happening? Why is the McGuinty government not providing treatment for all of the children and all of the adequate supports that are required for their families?"

Hon. Deborah Matthews: "To suggest that nothing has been done is simply not accurate. Let's take a look at what we have done. Since we were elected, we have more than tripled the funding for IBI. We have almost tripled the number of children receiving IBI services. Ten years ago, the budget for autism services in this province was half a million dollars; today it's over $150 million. Ten years ago, no children in this province received IBI therapy; today over 1,400 children are receiving IBI therapy."

"Do we still have work to do? Absolutely. Is our next step making schools a welcoming place for children with autism? Absolutely."

"I will tell you what I told Mr. Marinoiu, and that is this: We are working as hard as we can. I urge him to stop his hunger strike, go back to his family"-

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


Complete text of yesterday's debate.

For more information on how to contact a Member of Provincial Parliament, click here

For past editions of Yesterday at Queen's Park click here

To subscribe to Yesterday at Queen’s Park use the following link Subscribe

To unsubscribe to Yesterday at Queen’s Park use the following link Unsubscribe

For more information about the information contained in Yesterday at Queen’s Park contact Stephen Adler, Director of Public Policy at sadler@on.cjc.ca


Visit JewishHamilton.org Visit CJC.ca Visit JewishToronto.com Visit JewishLondon.ca Visit JewishOttawa.com Visit JewishWindsor.org