Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee
Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus Association of Ontario February 5, 1997
The Hon. Marilyn Mushinski Dear Ms. Mushinski:
I am writing on behalf of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee in response to your letters to me dated November 27, 1996 and January 13, 1997. We very much appreciate that in both of your letters to us, as well as in response to questions presented in the Legislative Assembly and elsewhere on the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, you declare in vague and general terms your commitment to removing barriers confronting people with disabilities. We are, however, very concerned that you have provided no specific or direct answers to the key questions of concern to the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee, namely when and how you shall be undertaking public consultations on the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and when the Ontarians with Disabilities Act will be introduced in the Ontario Legislature for debate and passage.
We are therefore writing to reiterate our request that we have an opportunity to meet with you as soon as possible to discuss these specific questions. We also wish to provide you with a copy of the Brief which we have prepared for submission to the Ontario Legislature's Standing Committee on Social Development for its hearings into the impact of budget cuts on persons with disabilities on February 3, 1997. We would appreciate your written response to the five specific recommendations set out at the conclusion of our Brief, which provide as follows:
Yours sincerely, cc: Encl: BRIEF TO THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE ONTARIO LEGISLATURE
ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, SUBMITTED BY THE OMTARIANS WITH
DISABILITIES ACT COMMITTEE, FEBRUARY 3, 1997
Please address replies to: M. David Lepofsky, Co-chair
35 McCaul Street, Suite 310
Toronto, Ontario M5T IV7
(416) 979-5514 Fax: (416) 979-0849
Contact: Steve Kean
Minister of Citizenship,
Culture & Recreation
77 Bloor Street West, 6th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2R9
M. David Lepofsky, C.M.
Co-chair
Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee
Mike Harris
Dalton McGuinty
Dominic Agostino
Michael Colle
Howard Hampton
Marion Boyd
Frances Lankin
Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee
c/o Deborah Thynn
The Canadian Hearing Society
271 Spadina Road
Toronto, Ontario M5R 2V3