ODA Committee Update
dated January 26, 2005
posted March 5, 2005

ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT COMMITTEE UPDATE Helpful Tips For Preparing Your Written And/or Oral Presentation On Bill 118 To The Legislature's Standing Committee On Social Policy January 26, 2005 SUMMARY The Legislature's Standing Committee on Social Policy commences its public hearings on Bill 118 next week. The ODA Committee here offers some helpful tips on preparing your presentation to the Standing Committee. These tips will help you whether you are scheduled to make an oral presentation, or are sending in a written submission, or are doing both. Remember that even though its too late to book a chance to make an oral presentation if you haven't booked one already, its certainly not too late to send in a written submission. Those can be sent to the Standing Committee up until February 8, 2005. We encourage you to send in a written submission, even if its just a 1-page short note. For example, you might wish to just let the Standing Committee know in writing if you support Bill 118 as an improvement over the current Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2001, and if you support the contents of the ODA Committee's written brief on Bill 118. We are just finalizing that brief, and will be sending it out via email shortly. If you have time to add any additional ideas or feedback for the Standing Committee, so much the better. To send in a written submission to the Standing Committee, whether via email or regular mail, use this contact information. Standing Committee on Social Policy Care of: Anne Stokes, Clerk Room 1405, Whitney Block Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A2 Email: anne_stokes@ontla.ola.org Everyone's contribution matters. We understand that once the Standing Committee hears from all presenters and receives all the briefs, it will have its staff prepare a detailed chart summarizing what has been recommended. Also, we expect that all three parties will go through all submissions. This will include the staff of the citizenship Ministry. This is your last, and your most important opportunity to have your say. After the Standing Committee holds these hearings, it will decide what amendments to make to Bill 118.   TIPS FOR YOUR ORAL AND/OR WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS TO THE LEGISLATURE'S STANDING COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL POLICY ON BILL 118 GENERAL TIPS Whether you are making an oral or written submission or both, you should consider these tips. * Remember that public hearings are the way for members of the public like you to take part in the democratic process of making new laws. This is not an intimidating formal process. It is the avenue for residents of this province to go to a public meeting and share their ideas with their elected politicians. Don't be nervous. Plan to enjoy it. You can make a real impact! * You should decide what you ultimately want to achieve by your presentation before you get wrapped up in the details of preparing it. * Its helpful to divide both your written and oral presentation into these parts: (a) explain a bit about who you are, and if you speak for an organization, what the organization does and what expertise it has in the area of disability barriers. (b) Let the Standing Committee know what overall you think of Bill 118. Do you support its direction of strengthening the Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2001?Also, let the Committee know if you think that holding these public hearings is welcomed. We hope you will commend all parties for voting for this bill on Second Reading, and will encourage them all to vote for this bill on third reading so it passes unanimously. (c) If you think Bill 118 should be amended, state what your objectives are vis a vis the amendments. Say, for example, "We would like to see this bill strengthened to achieve the following goals." Think at this point not in terms of the bill's legal language, but what results you would like the amendments to achieve in the real world. (d) Feel free to let the Standing Committee know what you think of the proposals in the ODA Committee's forthcoming brief. We are hoping that as many people as possible will support our brief, and of course, will add their own ideas too. You might wish to point out any of the ODA Committee's proposals that you think are especially important. (e) Let the Standing Committee know what specific areas for improvement of the bill are your top priorities. Assume that the three political parties want you to answer this question: "If only a limited number of changes were going to be made to improve this bill, what are the most important changes that would matter to you?" (f) If there is specific wording in the bill you would like to see changed, feel free to point this out. However, don't be worried if you don't want to get into that kind of detail. * Limit your suggestions to things which fall within the scope of this bill. For example, this bill and the Standing Committee can't deal with issues which are the responsibility of the Federal Government. * Don't' be afraid to suggest amendments. This bill is not being presented to persons with disabilities as a "take it or leave it" deal i.e. where we must either totally endorse it "as is" or must fear that the Government will withdraw it. All indications are that the Government is open to consider practical suggestions for improving the bill. * Remember that government funding for implementing this bill is certainly not unlimited. Show how your suggestions for improving the bill are sensible and cost-effective, especially at the present time when the government is facing a budget deficit. * don't assume that the MPPs on the Standing Committee have a detailed background in disability issues. These hearing may be the first time that some of them have been this focused on disability issues. * If you are from a smaller community or rural area, be sure to point out the distinctive needs persons with disabilities face in those areas as contrasted with those who live in the big city. Remember that these hearings are in cities, and so the Standing Committee will need to hear as much as possible about the situation outside the cities as well. TIPS FOR YOUR ORAL PRESENTATION * You only get 15 minutes to present, including time for MPPs to question you. This is VERY SHORT. It will go by very quickly. You should identify in your own might right away the 3 or 4 key points you want to make, because that is all you'll be able to accomplish in the short time you have. * You might bring along a printed up summary of what your organization does, who all the presenters are in your delegation, and what their job titles or background is. Bring at least 20 copies with you to hand out. By giving out this printed information to the Standing Committee at the start of your presentation, you can let the MPPs quickly read it over to themselves, rather than taking up precious time of your 15 minutes giving long introductions. * Get right to the point. Make your introduction short and to the point. Otherwise you will find that you have spent half of your 15 minutes just explaining who you are, what your organization does etc. * Don't spend too much time belabouring things you know the Standing Committee has heard over and over again. Especially if you are presenting later in the hearings, after the MPPs have heard several days of presentations, you might wish to quickly state that you agree with certain points that others have repeatedly made, list them quickly, and then get on to addressing the key points that you want to add. To this end, it is strongly recommended that you get to the hearings as early as possible on the day you are presenting. Watch the presentations that come before you. See what others have said so you don't eat up your time repeating them. You can also watch the Toronto hearings on January 31 and February 1 on your local cable TV company's Ontario Legislature channel to get an idea of what others are telling the Standing Committee. * Hit the important themes in your oral presentation. You can give more background and detail in your written submission. * Make concrete suggestions of how the bill should be improved. Identify the ones that matter the most to you. * Use real life examples of barriers you know about. Use these examples to illustrate why the amendments you seek are needed. Show how your proposals would improve the bill, and would help vis a vis the examples of barriers you provide. * Decide how much of your 15 minutes you want to spend making your presentation, and how much time you want to leave at the end for MPPs to question you. The MPPs rotate among the 3 parties in asking questions. Don't be surprised if an MPP's questions might be preceded by the MPP giving some sort of re-amble or introductory remarks. * If an MPP asks you a question that you don't know the answer to, or aren't sure, remember that this is not a test! You should feel free to say that you don't know. You can also offer to get back to the Standing Committee with an answer afterwards e.g. by sending in a written note to the Standing Committee using the address above. * Remember your audience at these hearings are elected MPPs. Remind them of how important this bill is to voters like you. * Make your presentation bring to life the real world experience of persons with disabilities who face barriers. Remember that the MPPs will be hearing many presentations, one after the next, for long hearing days. To retain their attention, paint a vivid, human picture for them of why we need this bill and the improvements you support. Let them know why this issue matters to you. * Don't assume that before you make your oralpresentation, the MPPs will have already read your brief if you submitted it in advance. They will be getting many briefs and will be hearing from many groups. * To prepare for your oral presentation in advance, try to summarize to a family member or friend in literally 1 minute what you are asking the Standing Committee to do to improve the bill. If you don't like how it sounded, try again! * Bring others to accompany you during the presentation. If you are speaking for an organization, bring as many staff, board members and volunteers as you can. As important as the word spoken by the presenters can be the showing of support by others in the room. You certainly can briefly tell the Standing Committee about the contingent that is attending with you. * If you are doing a presentation as an individual, don't feel that your message will have less force than presentations made by organizations. During public hearings in 2001 on the previous Governments Bill 125, which later became the Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2001, some of the most powerful and memorable presentations were made by individuals speaking for themselves. If you are speaking as an individual, remind the MPPs that you appear before them as symbolic of many thousands and thousands of other voters in their ridings. * If you have a disability that requires you to have more time than the 15 minutes allotted to you, let the Standing Committee know in advance and ask for an extension of time. * Let your local media know in advance of your upcoming presentation, and about the hearings generally. Don't assume the media knows about these hearings and plans to cover them. Urge them to attend. ADDITIONAL Tips for Your Written Submission * There are no formal rules on what your written submission needs to include. * You can make your submission as short as you wish. Some suggest the shorter submissions are more likely to get thoroughly read. (Of course, you are getting this advice from the ODA Committee which has a track record of submitting very long documents, and ironically calling them "briefs!") * Be sure to include in the brief your contact information in case the Standing Committee wants to follow up with you or ask further questions. We hope these tips are helpful. Let us know. Send us your feedback at: oda@odacommittee.net

 

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