| MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT ALLOWS 1,300 PER CENT INCREASE IN AUTISM WAIT TIMES |
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| Wednesday, 17 January 2007 19:00 |
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Opposition critic MacLeod says McGuinty press conference just more phoney Liberal promises QUEEN’S PARK, January 18, 2007 – The McGuinty government continues to show parents of children with Autism that it’s better at making promises than at keeping them. That’s according to Lisa MacLeod, the Official Opposition Critic for Children and Youth Services. “The McGuinty government isn’t even keeping up with the growth of the wait-list for Autism treatment, let alone reducing it,” said MacLeod. “They promised treatment for all children with Autism, and they have failed miserably.” MacLeod points to an announcement the McGuinty government made in June of 2006, promising to increase funding to accommodate treatment for new Autism patients. “So far, 30 of those spots are still vacant, even though there are over 1,200 children across Ontario still waiting for treatment.” said MacLeod. “That means the waiting list for Autism treatment has gone from 89 children in 2004 to 1,280 children in 2006. That’s an increase of 1,338 per cent, and they’re not even able to implement promises from eight months ago.” MacLeod argued that the government is continuing its tradition of promising the world but achieving few results, and that autistic children and their parents deserve honesty from their government. “Dalton McGuinty has broken his promise to autistic kids and their parents,” said MacLeod. “Now he's trying to pretend he's kept that promise. Playing pretend simply isn’t good enough for our children.” - 30 - For more information, contact: Stephen Gilman, Executive Assistant Phone: 613-823-2116. Cell: 613-297-2051 |