The Toronto Star recently sat down with the Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services Michael Coteau to discuss changes being made to autism services in Ontario. A common theme is starting to emerge over the past few months since the announcement of the new Ontario Autism Program. The
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Mind Bending Politics: Why Is Premier Kathleen Wynne Misinforming Parents on The New Autism Program?
This question was asked by Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown in question period twice today, only to be asked by the speaker of the legislature to withdrawal the questions. Question I would like to pose; why is the speaker of the Ontario legislature shutting down completely legitimate questions to the government? This latest bought […]
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Are Ontario’s Service Providers Siphoning Money From Autistic Kids?
I’ve had several parents come up too me with their stories since last week’s post on my son’s situation. There seems to be a large number of fights and battles with regional service providers like Kinark across the province that manage services for kids with autism too get kids the services they need. It’s important […]
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Follow up with Ontario’s Ministry of Children And Youth Services on Autism Services
I’ve received a follow up from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services in Ontario regarding my son’s position after insisting on it regarding what we were told during the last conversation. What I received back looked like a canned response. So here it is in full. I’ll dissect the response. Dear Mr. Koblovsky: […]
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Ministry Staffer Claims His Boss Mislead Public On Restoring Autism Funding in Ontario
(Ontario’s Minister Of Child and Youth Services Michael Coteau (above) And Premier Kathleen Wynne called out on false statements regarding Autism funding by Ministry staffer) A few months ago, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services announced plans to “restore” autism funding for intensive therapy. On the Ministry’s own website and press releases […]
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: China’s Economic Espionage Against Canada Refuses To Be Dealt With By Government
(China’s Artificially Created Housing Bubble In Canada Set To Burst Warnings Suggest) It’s been no surprise that Canada has long been in a housing bubble. Foreign investors from China have been buying up property in Canadian cities for years, and reselling them to Canadians for way more than the property is worth. China seems to […]
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Ontario’s New Autism Policy Not Going Over Well With Parents
(Ontario’s new autism policy lipstick on a pig, rather than implementing needed changes) With the Ontario Government announcing major funding initiatives over the past few months, it looks like autism services are not high on its priority list. Back in March, the Ontario government announced that it was going to do away with much needed […]
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Ontario To Axe CCAC In $50 Billion Health Care Overhaul
(Nothing to see here: Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins Announces The Closure of Community Care Access Centres) The horror stories continue for the people of Ontario. Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins announced today that the government will be closing all Community Care Access Centres (CCAC) in favor of cost cutting measures, and moving the home […]
Continue readingDefend Public Healthcare: Financial Accountability Office finds health care funding is falling short
A new report from the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) confirms the difficulties government cuts are placing on public health care in Ontario. The FAO is a government-funded but somewhat independent office that reviews Ontario governmen…
Continue readingDefend Public Healthcare: Health care funding falls far short even as Ontario heads out of deficit
A new report from the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) confirms the difficulties government cuts are placing on public health care in Ontario.
The FAO is a government-funded but somewhat independent office that reviews Ontario government economic and fiscal claims. This is not a left wing think tank — rather it is very much part of the received establishment.
Its latest report notes that government spending plans will fall $4 billion short of what is required to maintain services at 2015/16 levels by 2018/19:
Moreover:
The biggest funding gap is in health care.
Health care is facing 5.2% cost pressures the FAO notes: 2.2% due to population growth and aging and 3% due to growing wealth and inflation.
“Assuming that the quality and type of health care services provided in 2015 remains the same over the outlook, the FAO estimates that population growth and aging would contribute 2.2 percentage points per year on average to the growth in health spending. A stronger economy, which leads to higher incomes and price inflation would contribute a further 3.0 percentage points. Combined, these factors would lead to 5.2 per cent annual growth in health spending.”
The FAO notes the government plans health care funding increases of 1.8% over the next four years.
Accordingly it concludes:“Given these factors, it is unclear how the government will achieve its target of 1.8 per cent annual spending increases (for health) over the next four years.” (My emphasis.-DA)
While in the past, our health care system was getting “enrichments” — it is now getting significant “efficiencies”.
Ontario’s Economic and Fiscal Situation: The news from the FAO is a little better than it has been in the past.
According to the FAO, the economy is improving, revenue is growing (albeit not quite so quickly as the government hopes), and spending pressures are building. As a result, the government (absent new policies) will briefly achieve little or no deficit in 2017-18, but then return to deficit. The key debt to GDP ratio however has stopped getting worse and is beginning to modestly improve.
The take-away? For what it is worth, this representative of mainstream opinion believes we are more or less on track for a balanced budget in 2017/18, that government funding for public programs is falling behind real cost pressures, that health care is being hit hardest of all, that it is unclear how government can achieve such low level funding increases for health care, that funding for public programs and especially health care will have to increase in the medium term, and that, absent new policies, we will go back into modest deficit after 2017/18.
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Behaviour Experts Call Wynne’s Autism Policy Destructive
Toronto, April 20, 2016 – The Ministry of Children and Youth Services has declared that as of May 1, Ontario will no longer provide Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) to children of five years and older. A group of nine Board Certified Behavior Analysts™ (BCBAs), who are practitioners and advocates for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder […]
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Ontario Agencies Supporting Individuals With Special Needs Weighs In On Ontario’s New Autism Policy
The Ontario Agencies Supporting Individuals With Special Needs (OASIS) has just weighed in on the new Ontario Autism Policy. In a media release David Barber, President at OASIS stated: This new policy, if implemented the way it stands, sets children and their families back Barber went on to stay: Early intervention is crucial for […]
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Annoyed Ontario Liberals and Wynne’s Autism Echo Chamber:
This blog will be dedicated moving forward to following the conversations and policy discussions about Ontario’s new autism policy. The discussions going on right now are a national ethical and moral issue and those across Canada should be kept up to date as much as possible. On Tuesday there was a very emotional rally at our provincial legislature […]
Continue readingDefend Public Healthcare: Ontario to cut funding for hospital infrastructure in half. Austerity bites
The Ontario government recently put out a release bragging that they will fund $50 million per year to renew existing hospital facilities. However, in her September report the Auditor General reported that Ontario hospital funding is les…
Continue readingDefend Public Healthcare: Ontario to cut funding for hospital infrastructure in half. Austerity bites
The Ontario government recently put out a release bragging that they will fund $50 million per year to renew existing hospital facilities. However, in her September report the Auditor General reported that Ontario hospital funding is les…
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Experts Question Ontario’s New Autism Policy In Scathing Letter
(Ontario’s Minister of Children and Youth Services Tracy MacCharles Feeling The Heat On New Autism Policy) The Ontario Association for Behaviour Analysis (ONTABA) issued a scathing letter to Tracy MacCharles who is Ontario’s Minister of Children and Youth Services over the latest policy to strip intensive behavioural therapy from thousands of Ontario kids over 5. […]
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Kathleen Wynne’s Spouse Could Be Benefiting From Recent Changes to Autism Services In Ontario
(Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Spouse Jane Rounthwaite Worked as a Consultant in Autism Services While Parents Fought Government in Court in 2006) As the world celebrates Autism Awareness Day, parents in Ontario got extremely devastating news this past week that needed autism therapy would be no longer available after the age of 5. Back in […]
Continue readingDefend Public Healthcare: Ontario loses 19,000 public sector workers while rest of Canada gains 73,000
There has been a general trend downwards in public sector employment in Ontario according to Statistics Canada. In the last two years, Ontario has lost 19,000 public sector workers, with most of the loss occurring in the last year.The downwards trend i…
Continue readingDefend Public Healthcare: 37 health care findings by the Auditor General: Performance Problems
The litany of health care problems identified by the Auditor General is frightening. Here’s thirty-seven of them.Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs): Problems, Problems, ProblemsLHINs have not met performance expectations. “Most LHINs performed …
Continue readingDefend Public Healthcare: Revenue up $1.2 B: Ontario overestimates deficit — for the sixth year
The Ontario government is forecasting that it will beat the deficit forecast for the sixth year in a row according to the province’s Fall Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review.The deficit for this year is forecast to be $1 billion less than forecast …
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