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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 27 ,2 02 0 | 4 Ying Yang Chartered Professional Accountant Member of Canadian Tax Foundation (647) 989-1276 Oakville Office: (289) 291-3924 Toronto Offiffice: (647) 255-8049 yy@yangaccounting.ca For an affordable solution to your Business and Individual tax difficulties … Make an Appointment Today for a Free Confidential Consultation CRACRACRACRA PPPPrroblobleems?ms? Individual, Corporati &on & Trust Payrayroll, HST includiudingng Overseas & O& Offffshorshore Tax Issueax Issues Yang Tang Tang Tang ax Resolsolution Heating or Plumbing Problems? Call 289-205-3443 Fastest Emergency Service in Oakville • Heating • Cooling • Plumbing •Water Heaters • Duct Cleaning • Protection Plans fill its promise of creating a needs-based, sustainable Ontario Autism Program as soon as possible. The Ford government is overhauling the current system, but implementa- tion of the new plan was re- cently delayed from this spring to April 2021. Todd Smith, minister of chil- dren, community and so- cial services, has previous- ly said his ministry is tak- ing the time to ensure it gets the plan right. The resolution from Oakville Mayor Rob Bur- ton and Councillor Cathy Duddeck says that over 24,000 children with autism are currently on waiting lists to receive treatment, "putting excessive pres- sure on parents and educa- tors." "It is not a time for par- ents to be patient and wait for solutions, but for the Ontario government to act swiftly to put the health and well-being of its citi- zens first," asserts the mo- tion. In addressing his re- gional colleagues, the head of Oakville council didn't mince his words. He said he thinks the Ford govern- ment is being "unrespon- sive, unaccountable and evasive" in the way it's han- dling the autism portfolio. "This is not Conserva- tism -- this is cruelty," he contended. The sentiment is echoed by other parents in Halton whose children are lan- guishing on wait lists, like Melanie Fox, a Halton Hills mother and advocate with Project Autism Milton. Since being diagnosed with autism several years ago, Connor -- Fox's 15- year-old son -- has only re- ceived eight weeks of ap- plied behavioural analysis, a therapy that's custom- ized to improve certain be- haviours and develop learning skills. "It was fantastic, but it wasn't long enough," she said. "My family is in crisis. The needs-based services have to be put in place now because everybody is still in crisis." The local mother, along with autism parents across Ontario, has received an application from the prov- ince for one-time funding designed to tide families over until the govern- ment's new autism plan is introduced next year. But both Kennedy and Fox say the $5,000 being of- fered for children aged five to 17 is not nearly enough to make a difference. Inten- sive autism therapy can cost up to $80,000 per year, advocates say. "We don't want a cheque or cash. We want access to needs-based autism servic- es," said Kennedy. "We're asking for equitable access to health care and educa- tion for children and youth now, not in 2021." According to Oakville behaviour analyst Jessica Cauchi, the $5,000 would cover a portion of an as- sessment for a child with autism. "I can't create an indi- vidualized, effective pro- gram for somebody in that way," she said. For Cauchi, the discus- sion points to a bigger issue in Ontario of building cru- cial system capacity to ade- quately support families with autistic children. She said the number of stu- dents enrolled in post-sec- ondary programs to work in the behaviour analyst field is declining, and the matter has been further ex- acerbated by provincewide layoffs in the autism ser- vices sector. Council also heard from Rachel Koffman of Oak- ville's Monarch House, who spoke to the merits of early intervention for chil- dren with autism, and how the United States is ad- dressing autism services through private insurance funding. The lack of public funds and action for local autism parents didn't sit well with regional councillors, like Burlington's Rory Nisan. "I find this all very up- setting. Parents shouldn't have to choose between bread and behavioural therapy," he said. "It's not right. It's not Canadian." Milton Councillor Mike Cluett said the silos needs to be broken down between the provincial ministries of health, education and chil- dren, community, and so- cial services to address the issue as a whole. "We can throw all the money we want at this, but we have to fix that prob- lem," he noted. Fellow Milton Council- lor Zeeshan Hamid said ev- ery dollar invested in an autistic child now will lead to substantial savings in the future when they be- come adults who are con- tributing to society. The motion will be for- warded to provincial lead- ers and local MPPs, munic- ipalities, school boards and Autism Ontario. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Following the regional council meeting where the urgency of the Ontario Autism Program was discussed, we connect- ed with local parents to get a full picture of how fami- lies are being impacted. COUNCIL Continued from page 3 CHILDREN LANGUISHING ON WAIT-LIST, SAY PARENTS "This is not Conservatism - this is cruelty." - Mayor Rob Burton