CANADIAN GOVERNMENT DENIES EXISTENCE OF AUTISTIC VOICES:
NO AUTISTICS ALLOWED TALKS BACK

1 Mar 2004

The Hon. Liza Frulla
Minister of Social Development
Gatineau QC

Dear Minister,

The following is the response of your ministry to my concerns about the eligibility of Autism Society Canada (ASC) for funding:
 

Dear Ms. Dawson: 

                        Thank you for your e-mail of January 24, 2004 to the Honourable Lisa Frulla, Minister of Social Development, in which you raised concerns regarding the Autism Society of Canada.  I am responding on behalf of the Minister.

                        The Social Development Partnerships Program (SDPP) was created in 1998 to ensure that people with disabilities have a strong representative voice in Canadian society.  Our Program, along with the organizations we support, is committed to generating increased opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in their communities.

                        As part of this commitment, the renewed SDPP Terms and Conditions include a detailed list of eligibility requirements for organizations receiving capacity building or grant funding.  All organizations are required to clearly demonstrate ongoing eligibility in order to receive funding.  The proposals are subjected to multiple reviews, an internal review comprised of a committee within the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) and an external review by experts in the field of a particular disability. 

                        Your concerns relate to the Autism Society of Canada’s (ASC) eligibility to SDDP funding because you feel that they do not adequately represent persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

                        ASC has submitted proposals for grant funding on a yearly basis since 1999. Following the assessment of these proposals based on the approved Treasury Board terms and conditions, ASC has met all of the SDPP eligibility requirements. 

                        ASC’s mandate is to provide support on a national basis to people affected by Autism conditions through the collective efforts of Canadian, provincial and territorial organizations.  ASC supports SDPP’s objectives by addressing social development needs and aspirations of persons with disabilities.  They also meet all of the mandatory criteria of SDPP Terms and Conditions as approved by Treasury Board.

                        ASC is governed by parents and caregivers of people with autism as most individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are either minors or are people who, due to their disability, are unable to speak for themselves, nor function within the social structure of a typical organization.   Therefore, this classifies the organization as consumer-focused. 

                        I understand that a number of officials within the Autism Society of Canada would like to work with you to address some of the concerns you have identified.  Though they meet the eligibility requirements of SDPP Terms and Conditions, they have expressed an ongoing commitment to promoting increased opportunities for people with Autism in their organization.  I encourage you to work with them in this endeavour.

                        I would like to thank you once again for raising these important issues.  We are committed to continue working with our partner organizations, as well as concerned citizens such as yourself, to ensure that all Canadians with disabilities have an opportunity to be heard.

Sincerely, 
 

Deborah Tunis
Director General
Office for Disability Issues 

ASC is governed by parents and caregivers of people with autism as most individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are either minors or are people who, due to their disability, are unable to speak for themselves, nor function within the social structure of a typical organization.   Therefore, this classifies the organization as consumer-focused.

You are responsible for holding Ms Tunis severely accountable for denying the very existence of the voices of those she is charged with assisting. Ms Tunis, as Director General for the Office for Disability Issues is, in the area of autism, presiding over an Office for Disseminating Intolerance. She is propagating as fact statements about autistic persons which are false, defamatory, and illegal. Her statements about autistic persons and her commensurate practices are in violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Minister Frulla, do the statements and practices of the person in charge of disability issues in your ministry, and in fact in your government, also reflect your government's hiring practices? 

Further, you are responsible for locating the source of this damaging and destructive information. What led your ministry to make decisions on the basis of such a grotesque misrepresentation of all autistic persons?

This misrepresentation strikes me as immediately familiar. It is an exact replica of ASC's position about the worth of autistic persons and our place in society. 

Clearly, Minister Frulla, you are not just funding human rights violations. You are committing them.

I expect an immediate written apology from yourself. 

A credible apology must include evidence that this flagrant injustice is being rectified. Those in your ministry responsible for denigrating and excluding autistics must be held accountable. All decisions made about the funding of ASC must then be reviewed by persons free of the reprehensible prejudices against autistic persons now evident in your ministry. 

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Michelle Dawson
Montreal, Quebec