MPP Gilmour calls for transparency from Ford government after “damning” OAC report

QUEEN’S PARK — The Ontario Autism Coalition (OAC) has published its 2025 Community Survey Report, highlighting an Ontario Autism Program in crisis. In response, NDP Shadow Minister with responsibility for Ontario’s autism program, Alexa Gilmour (Parkdale—High Park), has issued the following statement:

“This, by its very existence, is a damning report. Less than one quarter of children registered for the Ontario Autism Program have been given access to the therapy they were promised. Nearly 65,000 of them are left waiting for core funding — their families pushed out of the workforce and into debt to care for their children — and parents are growing so desperate they’re turning to the Children’s Aid Society for support.

“This is a full-blown crisis, but you wouldn’t know it from hearing Doug Ford’s Children, Family, and Social Services Minister speak. Minister Parsa touts “record investments”, but those of us who work with families on the ground know that the message from Conservatives is clear: you are on your own.

“It is unconscionable that this government sees fit to award millions in taxpayer dollars to party insiders through the Skills Development Fund but leaves vulnerable children and their families waiting an average of five years for the help they need.

“Enough talk from the Ford Conservatives. It’s time for solutions, and the OAC has shown us the way. This government must provide emergency funding to enhance the core clinical services program and clear the waitlist backlog. It must commit to transparent, needs-based core clinical funding that is indexed to inflation. It must make meaningful special education investments, and investments in mental health infrastructure.

“Above all, we need accountability and transparency from Minister Parsa. It is utterly ridiculous that a volunteer organization is now essentially functioning as a reporting body that should live within the Ministry, all because the Premier and Minister Parsa refuse to be transparent.”