Members Statements in the Ontario Legislature
ODA LegislationWeek of October 25, 1999
Excerpt from response to the Throne Speech by
members of the Legislature,
week of Oct. 25, 1999
Lynn McLeod, Oct. 26, 1999:
I don't think we should forget the kinds of things this government did in its first mandate. I'm going to run out of time very quickly if I go back too far in remembering not the 10 years before the Harris government took office but the last four that have brought such hardship to so many people in this province.
I'm going to move on to page 5. This is where it says, "All branches of government must treat people fairly and with respect." I thought that sounded suspiciously like something that might approach social justice, a concern for equity even, "fairly and with respect." But then I read on, because what that means is, "To that end, your government will introduce ... a taxpayers bill of rights; not a bill of rights for children, not a bill of rights for frail and vulnerable seniors and certainly not a disabled bill of rights, because a commitment to enact for the disabled is now a statement about producing an action plan.
I must leave out much of the rest of the throne speech. I'm going to skip the rest of the pages so I leave my colleague with enough time to say all the things I know she wants to say.
Much of the rest of this throne speech is just about getting tough on people; mandatory drug treatment for people on welfare--forget the evidence that it doesn't work. And don't think about all those with mental illness who are in our jails because there's no place for them to get treatment, or the 50% of children who need mental health services and won't get them.
Anna Marie Bountragianni, Oct. 26, 1999:
The one area that I would like to address myself to is the last couple of lines in the second-last paragraph in which the throne speech says that they will continue the revolution but they "do not view themselves as "government," that they "came to fix government." I find that very difficult to understand, because I can tell you, you ask the people who have been hurt by this government over the last four years in one way or another whether or not they regard the Conservative Party that's been in power for the last four years as government.
Tell that to the social service recipients who lost 20% of their transfer payments early on, back in 1995. Tell that to the disabled community who expected this government, after the Premier gave a promise in 1995, to come up with a meaningful Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Ask them if they have in effect received that kind of treatment in the act that was passed earlier this year, because the answer will be a resounding no.
Mrs. Dombrowski, Oct. 26, 1999:
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I sense I've struck a sensitive chord. How interesting. With regard to cleaning up a mess, I think it would be worthwhile to reflect a little bit on the state of affairs in which we find ourselves in this province.
What about hospital deficits? What about the pitiable and embarrassing environmental record that we have as a province? What about special-needs students bereft of services they need so they can learn and achieve to their fullest potential? What about the safety of seniors? What about the promises you made to persons with disabilities? You talk about a mess. I think you've got quite a mess to clean up.
Howard Hampton, Oct. 27, 1999:
Finally, I want to talk just a bit about the most vulnerable and in many cases the most disadvantaged people in this province: people who are disabled, people who through no fault of their own are dealing with a variety of disabilities. We know the history of this government. This government promised, in 1994 and 1995, to bring in a disabilities act which would restore some fairness and would address the imbalances that disabled people face. What disabled people got instead of legislation to address this was an awful slap in the face. It was a three-page piece of wordage that is frankly shameful--shameful in the way that it cynically treats some of the most disadvantaged people in our society. We have seen since then the government continue in this shameful strategy.
I would say that if the Premier is right that we are indeed living in an economic boom, then for God's sake, we should have the decency as a society to be able to reach out to the most disadvantaged people in our community, the people who through no fault of their own are not in every way able to participate in our economy and in our society, and we should reach out with an attitude and with a direction that we are going to right those wrongs and we are going to bring some balance and we are going to recognize the dignity that they have in their lives and that they ought to be recognized as having.
What did I see in the throne speech? The continuation of the shameful strategy we've seen before. I say to the government, I think you're making a huge mistake here. I hesitate to use this analogy, but I think in a crude sort of way it is the analogy: You went out and made statements, not so many months ago, that you would never under any circumstances do away with the bear hunt, and then somebody brought some polling to you which showed that not only were you saying something that was quite unpopular but you were inflaming the issue, and as an effort in political damage control you had to reverse your position, with much embarrassment to the Minister of Natural Resources and the Premier.
Recognize that the vast majority of people in Ontario believe, are convinced, that we need to address the inequalities, the unfairness, that exist in the lives of disabled Ontarians. They want your government to move forward, and they want you to move forward not in a half-hearted way, not in a half-step, but in a bold way. I looked for some indication of that in the throne speech, and unfortunately found none. ...
...It's the same old movie. They're not going to do anything. They think they can snow-job the people of Ontario again.
I just say to you, the throne speech was bereft of the ideas, of the agenda, of the strategy to deal with the real problems that Ontarians face. There is no agenda to deal with the growing holes and cracks in the health care system. There is no agenda to deal with the growing shortage of nurses, the imbalance in distribution of physicians. There is no strategy to deal with the tragedy of special education that's happening in our elementary and secondary schools. There is no strategy to start to reinvest in our colleges and universities and bring us up to a level--please, please--that is not next to the bottom in North America. There is no strategy to deal with the growing degradation of our environment, the second- worst environmental record in North America. There is no strategy to deal with child poverty. There is no strategy to deal with the growing problem of homelessness and affordable housing. There is no strategy, other than Ghostbusters II, to deal with the problems of consumers and the growing price of gas. There is no strategy other than the continuation of the cynical strategy with respect to people who are disabled.
... In view of my dissatisfaction with the throne speech, in view of the fact that the government tried a strategy of deflection, tried to pretend it somehow has an agenda to deal with the causes of crime and the manifestation of crime, even though that is hollow because they have fewer police officers on the street than were on the street in 1994, in view of the fact that the government doesn't deal with the real problems Ontarians confront, I move, seconded by my colleague Ms Lankin:
That the amendment to the motion for an address in reply to the speech of Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor at the opening of the session be amended by striking out all of the words after "Whereas the throne speech" and substituting the following:
"Whereas the throne speech lays out a government agenda that will increase the growing gap between the rich and poor in Ontario, while tightening the squeeze on the middle class; and
"Whereas much of that agenda is supported by an official opposition that is complaining about the tone, rather than the substance, of the government's direction; and
"Whereas the government's policies will continue to enrich the wealthiest in the province while damaging environmental protection, child care, home care, affordable housing, community safety and other areas of primary importance to the people of Ontario; and
"Whereas the protection of the rights of workers and the health and safety of Ontarians on the job will continue to be eroded by the government actions; and
"Whereas the government has repeatedly broken promises to people with disabilities, both to pass an Ontarians with Disabilities Act and to put in place an effective disabilities support program; and
"Whereas working families who are falling farther behind need a government that will address their growing economic insecurity, not funnel more money into the pockets of those who are already well off;
"Therefore, this House regrets that the government has failed to put forward a legislative agenda which deals with the issues of concern to a majority of Ontarians."
The Acting Speaker:
Mr Hampton, seconded by Ms Lankin, moves that the amendment to the motion for an address in reply to the speech of Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor at the opening of the session be amended by striking out all of the words after "Whereas the throne speech" and substituting the following:
"Whereas the throne speech lays out a government agenda that will increase the growing gap between rich and poor in Ontario, while tightening the squeeze on the middle class; and
"Whereas much of the agenda is supported by an official opposition that is complaining about the tone, rather than the substance, of the government's direction; and
"Whereas the government's policies will continue to enrich the wealthiest in the province while damaging environmental protection, child care, home care, affordable housing, community safety and other areas of primary importance to the people of Ontario; and
"Whereas the protection of the rights of workers and the health and safety of Ontarians on the job will continue to be eroded by the government's actions; and
"Whereas the government has repeatedly broken promises to people with disabilities, both to pass on an Ontarians with Disabilities Act and to put in place an effective disabilities support program;
"Whereas working families who are falling farther behind need a government that will address their growing economic insecurity, not funnel more money into the pockets of those who are already well off;
"Therefore, this House regrets that this government has failed to put forward a legislative agenda which deals with the issues of concern to a majority of Ontarians."
Steve Peters, Oct. 27, 1999:
I will reiterate to the Minister of Citizenship and Culture: Your comments in the throne speech to the Ontarians with Disabilities Act were not appropriate. More needs to be done.
Marilyn Churley, Oct. 27, 1999:
Broadview-Greenwood used to be Riverdale. Although I wasn't in the House last night, I guess I should get a life because I was actually watching the proceedings on TV. I did see a portion of the member's speech last night. What disturbs me is what was left out of her speech and all of the government members' speeches that I've heard.
We're in this House today and we raised a very serious issue. It looks like we have a looming crisis within the disabled community. It looks like, and we had it confirmed today, that there may be thousands of people affected by a so-called computer glitch. I notice that the minister is here, but I don't think he paid attention. He didn't run out and see what's going on. None of this was talked about last night or in the throne speech. The reality is that we still do not have an Ontario disabilities act after five years of promise after promise, and just a bare mention of that in the throne speech.
Now today, on top of that, we find out--and we've been trying to point this out all week--that there's a problem with this program, the program where people are supposed to have their lives improved and in fact it's getting worse because of this government. Today we mentioned a crisis in the making where there could be thousands of people not getting their cheques on Friday, thousands of people worried about where they're going to get food to eat, in some cases get their medication, pay their rent. They may have to come down and pick up cheques. How are they going to get there when their transportation has been curtailed, plus they're not getting the-- it's a chicken-and-egg.
I am absolutely amazed that this government can make such speeches and not even refer to the disabled in our communities."
Shelly Martel, Oct. 28, 1999:
I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate in the throne speech debate today. While there are a number of things that I could talk about, I want to focus on two items in particular. The first has to do with disabled Ontarians, and the second has to do with physician shortages in this province. Let me begin first with disabled Ontarians.
The throne speech said "the desire to ensure opportunities for all members of society also underpins your government's ongoing effort to develop an Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Consultations on this important initiative continue. The goal is to introduce a new action plan this session."
I wonder if this government really thinks disabled people don't have a clue about what went on in this House in the last four years. During the election in 1995, this government, like the other two opposition parties, made the commitment to Ontarians with disabilities that we would, in the first term of that government, enact a piece of legislation that would recognize and allow the disabled in this province to contribute in terms of the workforce, to contribute socially, to have government remove barriers that face people in order that they could make a contribution.
The Conservative Party signed on to that during the election in 1995 and so did we and so did the Liberal party at the time. What happened after that was disgraceful. For the first three years of its mandate the Conservative government did nothing with respect to any kind of enactment, to any kind of legislation that affected the disabled in this province.
It wasn't until the summer of 1998, three full years after having been elected, that the Harris government finally decided to have some consultations with respect to the development of the said act. I remember those consultations because they were so flawed as a consultation process. The parliamentary assistant, Mr Shea, went to seven or eight communities. He held private, invitation-only meetings with the disabled community to hear their views on what they thought would be needed in a piece of legislation that would guarantee them access to make a full contribution to Ontario society.
I remember the night before he was in Sudbury, members of the disabled community, to their credit, held a rally at the Canadian Hearing Society in order that they might have some kind of public expression of what they thought was needed, because they certainly knew that they weren't going to have any kind of open, public consultation the next day. So many people in the room, representing so many organizations who represent disabled people weren't even invited to that little private, backdoor meeting that was supposed to be to discuss so important a piece of legislation.
I remember the criticism that the government took with respect to the consultation, but I remember even more clearly the shameful piece of legislation that the government then introduced as their supposed response to that consultation. It was a three-page document that did nothing to address the real and serious barriers that disabled people in Ontario face. The only thing that shameful three-page document directed the government to do was to have all ministries do a review of their policies and their procedures and their legislation to ensure that nothing that they were doing would cause a barrier to disabled people in the province.
Do you know what? That was a review that had already been underway, because when we formed the government in 1990, one of the first acts that was taken by the then Chair of Management Board, Frances Lankin, was to direct all ministries to do a systematic barriers review. We also provided funding to each of those ministries to make the changes that were going to be necessary to remove those barriers.
The first thing that this Conservative government did upon being elected was to stop, cancel, end that review. Three years later, in an effort to say they had done something for the disabled, they ordered that those reviews be reinstated, but they didn't even provide the funding that would have been necessary to do something about barriers which existed.
We find today, in terms of responding to the throne speech, the government yet again coming forward and saying to the disabled community: "We intend to do something about your situation. We intend to develop an Ontarians with Disabilities Act. We're going to consult about some new initiatives that we can undertake."
It's like giving the disabled the back of the hand, because they have been there before with this government. They have heard it before from this government and they saw no concrete action under this government, despite the very clear commitment the then leader of the Conservative Party made during the 1995 election. I hope that this time the government truly wants to do something for the disabled, because thus far your responsibility to respond to their needs has been completely undermined by your lack of action with respect to these same people.
The one concrete thing the government has done with respect to the disabled is the second thing I want to comment on. We have been trying to raise a red flag with the minister, Mr Baird, in this House with respect to a serious and significant problem he now has with the ODSP. You will recall, Mr Speaker, that when this legislation was debated in this House, my colleague the member for Beaches-East York said very clearly that the proof of how well this would work would be in the details, and that is exactly the case.
We have a program, I regret to say, that is so much like the Family Responsibility Office that it scares me. I watched this government, when it downsized, when it closed the regional offices to put something new in place, completely destroy a system that was put in place to make sure that families across this province got their support payments. Now we have a second office, the responsibility of which it is to determine if disabled people get benefits and to make sure that those benefits flow. But what we have in reality is an office that is grossly understaffed. It's an office where the staff people have not had the training they need to do this new work. It's an officer where, if you call the 1-800 line, you cannot get through. And my office has tried. We know that in the middle of September all MPPs received a note saying that if you wanted to try and access the adjudication unit you should look at this e-mail address on the Internet, and even today that site is still not up, over a month later. It is the same type of problems that we saw with the Family Responsibility Office being repeated and it's going to be repeated tenfold.
If I can say anything to this government as a warning, it is "Don't go down that road again." Remember the kind of financial hardship you put support recipients through in this province with the massive and very negative changes you made to the Family Responsibility Office. Do the work now to fix the problem that is staring you in the face. I know it is a problem because I have talked to members in this House who are getting calls from the disabled just like I am, to say, number one, their filing packages were sent to the adjudication unit in Toronto and they were lost; their filing packages have now been found, but it's going to take a number of months before a decision can be made; or, number three, they were on Canada pension and should have automatically been put on the ODSP and were not--any number of problems, the same kind of thing that I saw with the family responsibility office.
I would urge this government, and I would urge the minister in particular, who was too busy yesterday trying to give pat answers instead of dealing with the problems we brought forward, do yourself a big favour: Staff up this office to make it work, because what you are doing is putting the disabled, who are among the most vulnerable in this province, in an untenable situation.
The government absolutely has to review again the policy that it's brought forward which results in the cancellation of a transportation allowance to those disabled individuals. You cannot expect the disabled, with the small pension they have, with the small disability benefit, to also on an ongoing basis be able to access transportation so that they can get to doctors' appointments, so that they can get to medical clinics, so that they can get to a whole host of other support networks that they have to get to just in order to make it from day to day.
This government has cut that transportation allowance, and it's the responsibility of this government to take a step back, to review that very negative policy and to reinstitute that travel allowance for those disabled people. Don't penalize them even more. Don't make the job they have to do that much more difficult. I encourage this government, and the minister in particular, who isn't here today, to get a grip on what is happening at the ODSP, because it is unravelling and going downhill really quickly."
Mr. R. Marchese, Oct. 28, 1999:
I want to thank my friend from Nickel Belt for her specific focus on two things--the introduction of an Ontarians with Disabilities Act and, the other, the Ontario disability support program, very much connected to that--and, thirdly, physician shortages in underserviced areas. She was very specific.
This government too was very specific, and in its throne speech the Premier, through the Lieutenant Governor, mentioned that this government is here to serve real Canadians or real Ontarians, if I remember correctly. I was profoundly worried about the implications of who those real Canadians or Ontarians were and who the other unreal Ontarians were, and I hope to be able to speak to that point when I have my opportunity to do speak.
I suspect that the people my friend from Nickel Belt spoke about may be those undeserving Canadians, those who are not real Canadians, I'm assuming, because this government has done very little to deal with issues of disability, to deal with the Ontarians with Disabilities Act that they have promised. These people represent 15% of the population. They haven't dealt with it. That must mean they're unreal. The member proposed modest ways to deal with physician shortages in those underserviced areas, and this government is disregarding it completely.
The focus of this government appears to be its complete devotion to income tax cuts as a solution to our economic problems. I tell you, Speaker, your colleagues have never presented once any evidence to show that is the case. They are obsessed with income tax cuts and nothing else.
| Index Page | Action Kit | Debates Page |
