{"id":292066,"date":"2015-10-16T19:27:02","date_gmt":"2015-10-16T23:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/2015\/10\/where-do-the-federal-political-parties-stand-on-autism\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:21:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T19:21:31","slug":"where-do-the-federal-political-parties-stand-on-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2015\/10\/where-do-the-federal-political-parties-stand-on-autism\/","title":{"rendered":"Where do the federal political parties stand on autism?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may be no huge surprise to families in Canada affected by autism that this \u201cniche issue\u201d has rarely been on the lips of any of our politicians leading up to the federal election.\u00a0 But it should be a surprise, since autism affects as many<\/a> as 1 in 94 children age six to nine years (current Canadian data) or the more commonly cited 1 in 68 kids (according to more comprehensive U.S. data).<\/p>\n

Such wide prevalence means there aren\u2019t too many communities across the country that don\u2019t know someone \u2013 in their class, their extended families, their workplaces and neighbourhoods \u2013 who is affected by this neurodevelopmental disability which has wide-ranging severity and can affect<\/a> verbal and social communication, motor skills and present behavioral challenges.<\/p>\n

In fact, according to science journalist, Steve Silberman, autism is now one of the largest special interest groups in the world.\u00a0 We have clout, in other words.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we rarely come together to flex our collective political potential.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason may be there is no shortage of debate within our autism communities on where valuable public resources for autism services should be spent or who should be delivering these services, where, when and for how long.\u00a0 But there\u2019s certainly something almost all autism families can agree on, and which a recent needs assessment survey<\/a> of autism caretakers and professionals across the country found: Canadian autism families are struggling to get the critical services they need but can\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n

So what do our federal political parties promise to do?\u00a0 Below is a summary of publicly available party platforms and promises<\/p>\n

Conservative Party<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had three terms and more than nine year to witness the Harper Conservatives cede leadership for health and educational issues to provincial and territorial bodies.\u00a0 They have repeatedly refused to heed calls from various organizations for a national autism strategy.<\/p>\n

However, before the election was called they did appoint a new \u201cAutism Spectrum Disorder Working Group\u201d<\/a> with a two million dollar budget to develop a plan for a \u201cCanadian Autism Partnership\u201d to address autism research, information sharing, early detection, diagnosis and treatment.<\/p>\n

For several years now, they\u2019ve also made available a Registered Disability Savings Plan<\/a> (RDSP) \u2013 a legacy of the late Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.\u00a0 The RDSP is a savings plan that helps caretakers of those with a disability save for their future, with some matching grants and direct government contributions for those in certain income levels.\u00a0 It\u2019s a terrific plan and if you don\u2019t have one, you should get one, but it\u2019s cumbersome to set up, complex to understand and the uptake<\/a> has been less than 15 percent of eligible Canadians thus far.\u00a0 If re-elected the Conservatives promise<\/a> to streamline the process and increase of the maximum annual Canada Disability Savings Grant for lowand middle-class families from $3,500 to $4,000\/year.<\/p>\n

The Conservatives have also supported autism research<\/a> with approximately $39 million investments through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the creation of Chair in Autism Spectrum Disorder Treatment and Care Research.\u00a0 They have also recently set up a National Autism Surveillance System<\/a> via the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to track estimates of those living with ASD so we\u2019ll no longer have to rely on U.S. statistics.<\/p>\n

Liberal Party<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to a letter sent to the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance<\/a> (CASDA), the Liberal party will fully implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities<\/a> and in their platform, have made a commitment to pass a National Disabilities Act<\/a>. \u00a0Canada is an outlier among developed countries for not having a Disabilities Act, so this would be an important step forward.<\/p>\n

The Liberals have also consistently supported the creation of a national autism strategy.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t find any mention of this in their raft of policy documents, but party headquarters confirmed this commitment with me in an email. \u00a0They also voted in favour of a resolution<\/a> to establish a national autism strategy at the last Liberal party convention.<\/p>\n

The Liberal handbook also commits to dramatically increasing the number of disabled youth who receive help to transition to the workforce<\/a>. \u00a0Generally, the Liberals have also promised to make homecare, prescription drugs and mental health care more accessible.<\/p>\n

In the past, Liberal Senators were instrumental in spearheading a comprehensive cross-party Senate report on autism, Pay Now or Pay Later: Autism Families in Crisis<\/a><\/em> (2007).\u00a0 Liberal Senator Jim Munson also introduced<\/a> a successful private member\u2019s bill in 2012 that was passed with cross-party support to institute World Autism Awareness Day<\/a> annually on Parliament Hill.<\/p>\n

New Democratic Party<\/strong><\/p>\n

Similarly, in a letter to CASDA<\/a>, the NDP has committed to implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities. They also commit to establishing a Canadians With Disabilities Act to promote \u201caccessibility, effective participation and equality of opportunity for persons living with disability.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NDP has also publicly supported and highlighted the need for an effective national autism strategy, and are committed \u201cto put a national autism strategy in place as quickly as possible<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 They pledge to work cooperatively with CASDA and other non-profits and agencies working on autism to that end.<\/p>\n

Generally<\/a>, the NDP have pledged a national pharmacare program to make prescription drugs accessible and have also committed to improved homecare and mental health care services.<\/p>\n

Of course, when it comes time to vote, autism families, like most Canadians, will select their candidate based on a number of issues, not just those that affect us personally.\u00a0 But it is worthwhile making an informed decision before you vote \u2013 and that includes knowing where the candidates stand on autism.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time autism families in Canada flexed our political muscle.<\/p>\n

Kathleen O\u2019Grady is a Research Associate with the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University.\u00a0 She is the mother of two young sons, one with autism.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the\u00a0<\/em>Policy Options\u00a0discussion, and send in your own submission.\u00a0Here is a\u00a0<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on how to do it.\u00a0<\/em>|\u00a0Souhaitez-vous r\u00e9agir \u00e0 cet article ?\u00a0<\/em>Joignez-vous aux d\u00e9bats d\u2019<\/em>Options politiques\u00a0et soumettez-nous votre texte en suivant ces\u00a0<\/em>directives<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It may be no huge surprise to families in Canada affected by autism that this \u201cniche issue\u201d has rarely been on the lips of any of our politicians leading up to the federal election.\u00a0 But it should be a surprise, since autism affects as many as 1 in 94 children age six to nine years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":913,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[],"class_list":["post-292066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhere do the federal political parties stand on autism?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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