Letter to the Honourable Isabel Bassett,
Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation

ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT COMMITTEE
c/o Marg Thomas
1929 Bayview Avenue,
Toronto ON M4G 3E8
Tel: (ODA Committee Voice Mail) 416-480-7012
Tel: (Voice direct) 416-480-7686
Fax: 416-480-7014
email: thomasm@east.cnib.ca
TTY: Care of Deborah Thynn 416 964-0023 ex. 251

October 14, 1998

The Honourable Isabel Bassett
Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation, 6th Floor,
77 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2R9

Dear Minister:

m writing as a follow-up to conversations that our counsel, Patti Bregman, has had with Simon Burke about setting up a meeting with you. I want to ensure that the meeting is as productive as possible given the limited time available to all of us.

n we first suggested this meeting at our initial August 4, 1998 meeting it was to give us a chance to do two things. First, to enable us to respond to any questions or concerns based on what you heard during the consultation process. Second, to give us an opportunity to respond to submissions made by other participants in the consultation process whether they were made at meetings, in briefs or in other forms of correspondence.

In order for us to be able to accomplish our goals we told you we would need specific information including copies of the briefs submitted and transcripts or notes from the consultation meetings. We also asked for a list of participants in the consultation process. I understand it is to be put on your web site but as of today's date it is still not available. As of this date we still do not have this information. It will take us at least a week to review it once we receive, longer if it is not in accessible formats because we will have to process the material ourselves. While we can understand concern about releasing specific personal information, such as the home address or phone number of individuals making submissions, it is difficult to understand why those submissions from organizations cannot be released to us immediately. That would give us an opportunity to begin our review while personal identifying information was removed from the remainder of the material.

As far as the meeting date is concerned, I understand that Oct. 22, 1998 has been proposed. I am available at that time but without reviewing the material prior to the meeting we will not be able to accomplish our goals for the meeting. If we receive the material by tomorrow then we hope to be able to complete our review for Oct. 22. However, we are still prepared to meet with you on October 22, 1998 if there are other matters that you would like to discuss with us. If that is your preference, then we would maintain our request, which you accepted on August 4, to have a meeting with you for the purpose of giving you helpful feedback on the consultation process results.

I would appreciate it if you could let us know as soon as possible when you think the material might be available and whether you want to go ahead with the October 22, 1998 meeting even if we have not received the material by that date. If that is the case, it would be our preference if the meeting could take place at 4:30 or later. Patti Bregman will be out of town until Nov. 2, 1998. In her absence, please contact David Baker at ARCH to discuss the availability of the material and plans for our meeting.

Yours truly,

M. David Lepofsky, C.M.

Co-Chair Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee

  Dalton McGuinty  MPP
  Howard Hampton  MPP
  Gilles Morin  MPP
  Frances Lankin  MPP
  Dwight Duncan  MPP
  Marion Boyd  MPP
  Gerrard Kennedy  MPP
  Simon Burke
  David Baker

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