Every million dollar autism talking point in Question Period: Feb. 19–25

Out of curiosity, I decided to see how many millions were mentioned by Lisa MacLeod during each day’s Question Period, along with context. I wanted to see if there was ever a mention of the figure $361 million.

Turns out, 21 times the government has given answers on autism questions that have a reference to “millions”. 18 of those by Lisa MacLeod, 3 by Doug Ford. At no time was there a reference to 2018–19 spending of $361 million.

Here we go.

Feb. 19:

1. I appreciate the passion which the member opposite brings. This is a gut-wrenching issue, and when I inherited this portfolio, I inherited an almost bankrupt Ontario Autism Program that required $100 million of emergency funding just to service 25% of the children. That was wrong. It was unfair, it was inequitable and it was unsustainable.
2. On the announcement day, I did make the commitment that this would be a $321-million investment into families with autism, which is much more than the $256 million the previous Liberal administration had offered. In addition, with respect to income testing, we were very clear that it is for those who make over $250,000 per year.
3. I just answered the question: $321 million — which is a lot more than the $256 million that they offered — we are offering to ensure that we clear the wait-list of 23,000 children. It was unconscionable to deny three out of four children in this province — 23,000 children — service from their Ontario government. We’re going to make it fair. We’re going to make it equitable. We’re going to make it sustainable. We are doubling the investment into diagnostic hubs. We are going to empower parents with direct funding.
4. We had to make a decision. I went to Treasury Board twice, securing over $102 million so that we could keep the program that the Liberals left me intact for five months. We then invested an additional amount of money from the previous government: $256 million, now worth $321 million.

Feb. 20

1. [Doug Ford, not Lisa MacLeod]: We — our government — feel we’re doing the right things. When we went into office, Mr. Speaker, the system was bankrupt. The system was bankrupt. They had funded it to $256 million. We had to run to the treasury for emergency funds of $100 million. The system was broken — a broken system that the opposition voted for. They actually voted for it.
2. We have travelled across the province. We have heard from people. But as the Premier has just stated, the system we inherited six and a half months ago was broken. It was bankrupt. We had to go back to Treasury Board for an additional $100 million so that we could continue to serve just 25% of the population with autism in the province of Ontario. That was heartbreaking. It was gut-wrenching. We had to make a decision so that we could make sure it was fair, equitable and sustainable. That’s why we are moving to a model that directly funds parents and doubles the investment in our diagnostic hubs. That’s the right thing to do.
3. I get that the Leader of the Opposition is angry. I would ask her to consider the truth, and the circumstances that we inherited with a $256-million program that was excluding three out of four children in this province. That means some children were getting some service, but most of the children were getting no service. Speaker, she couldn’t look at herself in the mirror if she had to inherit a program like that, just like we in this government couldn’t after we had to inject $100 million into this system so we could ensure that places like Erinoak and CHEO could make it through the holidays to support the 25% of the children who were fortunate enough to be in this program. That is why I am committed to clearing the wait-list so that 23,000 children who were denied service in the province of Ontario will get the service they deserve.
4. to invest an extra $100 million to keep the program — for only 25% of the children — afloat. Twenty-three thousand children may not be a lot to the members opposite, but my job is to protect every single child that has autism in this province and that’s what I’m doing. We’re making sure that Tatiana is going to get direct-funding support so she can make the best decisions for her child who’s already receiving support as well, sadly, as the child that was not going to get off the wait-list. But I can commit today that within the next 18 months he will be off this wait-list.
5. I appreciate the member opposite’s passion for this. It’s an important issue for the 25% of parents who were receiving support from this program. But I have to look at all children on this program. That’s why we have to extend support to the other 23,000. That’s why we have increased our budget for this program from $256 million to $321 million. That is why we went in for an emergency $100 million from Treasury Board to ensure that we could keep this program alive. But, Speaker, I have to say, we must ensure that we have appropriate levels of support for all children, not just one in four. That’s wrong. It’s unconscionable. It is unsustainable the way the previous government had run it.
6. This is very near and dear to my heart, and it’s important for me to continue to speak to the families, but I do have an obligation to all children in the program. I would like the member opposite to understand that there is no cut here. It was a $256-million budget, and I’ve expanded that to $321 million. But I’m also going to clear the wait-list of the 23,000 children who received no support under the previous government.
7. But let me be perfectly clear as I stand here and I communicate this plan to Ontarians: This really is about fairness, equity and sustainability. We have increased the budget for this program from $256 million to $321 million. We have sustained the previous program by injecting an emergency $100 million into the program. But our goal is to ensure that the 23,000 children who weren’t receiving support in the province of Ontario before — that’s three out of four children who have autism in this province — will now receive support —
8. I appreciate Sarah’s concerns, but I’ll be perfectly honest: I worked very hard with my parliamentary assistant, Amy Fee, in criss-crossing this province. Amy is, in my opinion, the ideal member of provincial Parliament. She arrived here as the mother of four children, two of whom have autism. She has put the children on that wait-list first — those 23,000 children who were never going to get support under the previous Liberal plan. That means we are going to put forward a fair and equitable plan that has increased spending from $256 million — to $321 million. We are doubling the investment into diagnostic hubs, and, as importantly, we’re giving parents flexibility and choice in the system in how —
9. To Kelly at home, what I’ve done instead is I have increased the budget for this program from $256 million to $321 million. What I’m going to do is directly invest in Erinoak so that I can double the investment on diagnostic hubs, and then once the children have the diagnosis, they’re going to be funded directly so that they can get service in their community, or they could get a technological aid, or they could get caregiver training or respite care. That’s what Kelly is going to be entitled to with this program.

Feb. 21

1. There are 23,000 children in this province who have gone without support. We have increased funding in this ministry. The budget used to be $256 million; I have increased it — during a time when the previous Liberal government left us with a $15-billion deficit — to $321 million. During that period of time, Speaker, I made a commitment to the parents who were currently receiving service that we would continue their funding throughout Christmas and had to go to Treasury Board for an emergency $102 million so that the 25% of the children who were receiving support could continue to receive support.
2. We have now increased the budget to $321 million. We are doubling our investment in diagnostic hubs so we can get quicker diagnoses for children at a much earlier age. We believe in early intervention, which is why we are going to front-end a lot of money for children between the ages of zero and five, where we know support will help them the best it possibly can. We’re going to a direct-funding model so that parents can be enabled and empowered to choose the best services for their children.
3. We increased the budget for this program from $256 million to $321 million. We are doubling our investment in diagnostic hubs at CHEO, Erinoak, Holland Bloorview and other places including in the north. We are going to enable and empower families to have a childhood budget where they will work with Autism Ontario, which we signed a $700,000 contract with to help navigate the system so moms and dads can best utilize that support.
4. What we have done is we have increased our spend in this ministry from $256 million, which was budgeted, to $321 million. We’re doubling the investment into diagnostic hubs. Once children are diagnosed, they will then have an ability to be directly funded from their Ontario government.

Feb. 25

1. [Doug Ford, not Lisa MacLeod]: Through you, Mr. Speaker: That is exactly what we’re doing. When the minister went and picked up the file and found out it was bankrupt, right away Minister MacLeod ran over to the treasury and asked for $100 million extra to make sure that the 23,000 families who were forgotten under the previous administration and the opposition that supported the previous administration on that file — there are 23,000 families out there who are struggling. But we’re fixing that problem to make sure that we have funds there — because we inherited a $15-billion deficit. We inherited the largest subnational debt in the entire world, of over $340 billion. We know that the fourth-largest line item is $12 billion —
2. [Doug Ford, not Lisa MacLeod]: Again, through you, Mr. Speaker: I want to make sure everyone understands the situation of the finances when we opened up the file. When we opened up the file, the previous government had not only bankrupted this province, but they had bankrupted the autism file, to a tune of $256 million. We’re enhancing it by $100 million. We’re doubling the therapists. We’re making sure that the 23,000 people who were on the wait-list will be off the wait-list, because we’re taking care of the finances of this province for the first time in 15 years. There’s now confidence in this province that people are opening up businesses. We’ll get more money from companies and create more jobs. That’s what we’re doing for people who have autism.
3. We are doubling our investment into diagnostic hubs. We have invested an extra $102 million so that the 25% of children who are currently receiving support will continue to receive it. We are going to directly empower families with up to $140,000 with a childhood budget so that they can choose the supports they want.
4. We inherited a program that was not only broken, but broke. It required $100 million in emergency funding just to support the one in four children who were receiving support in the province of Ontario. Our motivation is to clear the wait-list. We’re doing that by doubling our investment into the diagnostic hubs, and we’re going to go to a direct funding model which will empower parents to choose the services that they want through their childhood budget.