For Immediate Release
September 10, 2008

The Government is not Listening to Families
Liberal dominated committee defeats PC amendments

(Queen’s Park) – Progressive Conservative MPPs Christine Elliott (Whitby-Oshawa) and Sylvia Jones (Dufferin-Caledon) voiced concern over the outcome of the clause-by-clause consideration of Bill 77 - An Act to provide services to persons with developmental disabilities, to repeal the Developmental Services Act and to amend certain other statutes.

"This summer the committee received advice on changes to Bill 77 from families and individuals across the province. I am disappointed that the government’s amendments did not reflect what we heard,” said Jones.

“The Government has failed to respond to the number one concern to include direct funding in Bill 77.The bill seems to be focused on bureaucracy - application entities - rather than outcomes so individuals can participate in a meaningful way in the communities where they live," said Jones.

The amendments put forth by the Liberal government did not respond to the needs of the developmentally disabled community and the Liberals completely ignored the opposition’s suggested amendments. The government voted against each of the 66 Progressive Conservative motions to improve Bill 77 that represented the concerns raised at the public hearings. 

Despite cautions from the PC Caucus during the spring legislative session to refrain from leaving important aspects of legislation to regulation, the government proceeded to pass motions that expand their regulatory powers. "Leaving core issues such as funding entities to be developed in regulation means that stakeholders will not have any input on issues that directly affect them," said Elliott.  "This also creates additional insecurity for some of the most vulnerable people in our society because regulations can be changed without legislative consent or public consultation."

The government’s amendments failed to include a planning component in the Bill.  “It’s vital that individuals and their families work with planners to be informed about the services and supports that are available beyond the assistance provided by service agencies.  A ‘life plan’ is necessary to achieve social inclusion in the community. These ideas are at the heart of what the transformation agenda is all about,” said Elliott.

“Bill 77 was an opportunity for the government to address the needs of the community.  It’s sad to see that they are more concerned with pushing forward their own agenda than incorporating the feedback provided by stakeholders and families that will be directly affected by this legislation.,” said Jones.

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