Ministry of Citizenship,
Culture and Recreation
Minister
6th Floor
77 Bloor Street West
Toronto ON M7A 2R9
Tel.: (416) 325-6200
Fax: (416) 325-6195
JAN 13 1997
Mr. David Lepofsky
Co-Chair
Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee
35 McCaul St., Suite 310
Toronto, Ontario
M5T 1V7
Dear Mr. Lepofsky:
I am writing in response to your recent letter dated December 4, 1996, and to thank you for your letter dated October 31, 1996, in which you provided me with a copy of the results of the Harris Survey on Employment of People with Disabilities, which was completed for the (United States) National Organization on Disability.
From some of the comments you made in the December 4th letter, it appears that you wrote it before you had received my letter to you dated November 27, 1996, in response to your previous letters.
As I indicated to you in my November 27th letter, and have stated at a number of public engagements, including at the ARCH Priorities Day which you attended, this government remains firm in its commitment to removing barriers to economic and social integration faced by persons with disabilities.
With regard to your comments about my statement in the Legislature on November 19, 1996, l consider my meeting with you and members of the ODA Committee on June 14, 1996, as part of the consultation process, and I gave my commitment that the process will be continued.
In my November 27th letter, I advised you that a plan for ongoing discussions with the disability community on the development of an overall disability strategy and to move related policy work forward is being developed by the Disability Issues Unit of the Ministry's Citizenship Policy Branch.
I expect that the Project team will be contacting you and other disability organizations In the near future to continue the discussions we began last summer.
Best wishes to you and your colleagues for the new year.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Mushinski
Minister
cc: The Honourable Michael D. Harris, Premier of Ontario
Mr. Dalton McGuinty, Leader of the Official Opposition
Mr. Howard Hampton, Leader of the New Democratic Party