We have written to Canada’s Auditor General asking for answers to some questions about how autism funding decisions are being made by Canadian governmental ministries and agencies.
We are asking the Auditor General directly because after 6 months of outstanding inquiries to the agency and ministry involved, those offices have not given us answers.
As well, the usual databases that list federal contracts and RFPs do not list most of these contracts or indicate whether any bidding processes or research was involved in the decision to choose the specific providers and programs.
Who is the Auditor General?
The Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) “serves Parliament by providing it with information and expert advice on government programs and activities, gathered through audits” of financial activity by government agencies to make sure that things are being done fairly and openly.
Our questions: Below are the questions we submitted to the Auditor General of Canada.
AIDE Network
In October 2018, more than $10 million was announced for the Pacific Autism Family Network and the Miriam Foundation to develop the Autism-Intellectual-Developmental Disabilities National Resource and Exchange (AIDE) Network, a website that advertises the services of Canadian autism service providers.
How was the AIDE project tendered?
Where is the contract—why is it not online like other disability-related contracts?
How was any need for this project determined?
What demographic and best-practices research was this expenditure based upon, if any?
Since the primary beneficiaries of this program are the PAFN and related service agencies themselves, what data was collected or audits done (if any) to determine whether there could be secondary stakeholders/beneficiaries?
Was there research into the issue of redundancy (considering that similar databases exist); whether the similar existing databases were effective (how much and why or why not); and whether Canadians will access the AIDE database to find local services instead of using Google as they do now?
Other projects
The projects listed next were also funded with no apparent public record of RFPs or tendering process, nor any record of research into their feasibility, reasonableness or sustainability.
Autism Nova Scotia’s Health Sexuality Research Program, $800,000; Autism Ontario’s Mental Health Matters Project, $524,431; Autism Resource Centre’s Building Block Program, $518,964; Jake’s House for Autistic “Children for The Legends Mentoring Program [sic]”, $600,000 (does not fund autistic mentoring); York University for The Autism Mental Health Promotion Project, $599,300 and; McGill University (Royal Institute for the Advancement of Learning) Caregiver Skills Training Program, $600,000.
Why were these projects funded without meaningful data about need or research into ROIs in other jurisdictions?
How does the level of due diligence for autism-related projects compare to that of other government funded disability-related expenditures?
If there are two sets of standards for due diligence, why is that?
What is the RFP and bidding process for these projects?
Why aren’t the bidding process, contracts and standards of measurement transparent for autism funding, as they are for other expenditures?
We hope to hear back from the Auditor General soon. We will update this post and our social media when we do.
We are very proud of all the autistic activists in Canada who have taken action against the screenings of the film VAXXED 2!!
VAXXED 2 is a propaganda film that is earning millions for the antivax industry at the expense of autistic people. The film falsely links vaccines and autism and portrays autistic people as an epidemic and a burden.
Autistic advocates were the leaders of these pro-science actions. In some cases, advocates were able to get screenings stopped before the film showed; in others, we took to the streets to educate.
Actions
North Bay, ON: An A4A member in North Bay had the idea of calling the local Health Ministry office (MOH) to inform them of 3 screenings scheduled in the area. The MOH contacted the venues to inform them that due to the public health risks of the screening, the venues needed to cancel the screenings. All 3 screenings were canceled!!!
Toronto, ON: A direct action picket line was organized by some brave autistic activists in Toronto, when the film screened for two nights at a local theatre. Activists held signs with slogans such as “Vaccines Cause Adults” and “Autistic and Proud”. They handed out educational flyers to passers-by and had engaging conversations about public health and also about neurodiversity — all while trying to avoid the angry shouts of the attendees in line… and the pouring rain both nights. A true endurance test!
Halifax, NS: In Nova Scotia, Autistics United Chapter Leader Alex Kronstein spoke with media about the dangers of antivax rhetoric and its impact on autistic people. Advocates held a spirited protest at the screening of VAXXED 2, which took place at a local city-owned recreation centre that rented the space to VAXXED 2 for $345. One ally held a sign that read: “Halifax Rec: For $345 you lost my $516 gym membership. Get lost, anti-vaxxers. My best friend has autism and is perfect.” Thank you.
Moncton, NB: New Brunswick advocates contacted the New Brunswick Medical Society and the Mayor of Moncton, but neither office showed interest in the public health risks of screening antivax propaganda films during a resurgence of measles, mumps and rubella that is being caused by antivax propaganda, so the screenings went forward. Advocates showed up at the screenings and handed out educational flyers, holding signs, and talking with passers-by about the issues, receiving supportive high fives, honks and people shouting “Yes! We vaccinate!”
Victoria, BC: Advocates were able to get two scheduled screenings shut down after the venues were made aware that the so-called “education group” scheduled at their spaces was actually a screening of VAXXED 2. At the two remaining venues, a group of protesters–plus a very sweet service dog–stood outside with their signs. One protester, whose parents did not vaccinate them as a child, held the sign: “Not vaccinated and still autistic.” The group received support from people throughout the neighbourhood.
“My Existence is Resistance”
Autistic activist Alex Kronstein of Nova Scotia, who held a sign that read “My Existence is Resistance” spoke to Global Media about the protests, summing up the reason why autistic people are at the forefront of protesting this film: “The whole idea that vaccines cause autism, it promotes a lot of stigma and hatred towards autistic people….If a publicly-owned rec facility is hosting a screening of this film, it’s harming public health and contributing to the stigma of autistic people.”
The vaccine that antivaxxers has been most focused on is the Measles Mumps Rubella vaccine (MMR), profiting from a baseless myth that the MMR vaccine causes autism. Experts estimate a sixfold increase in mumps diagnoses, with rising numbers of measles cases each day, including major outbreaks, and new cases of rubella now being reported.
The vaccine-autism myth was made stronger for more than a decade by the group Autism Speaks, which perpetuated the antivax myth through its literature and even its research projects until just 3 years ago when its messaging abruptly shifted. Autistic advocates have been at the forefront of resistance against antivax and public education about the importance of childhood vaccines.
Thank you
We are grateful to all the amazing autistic advocates across Canada who worked so hard on this. We did not allow the antivax industry to present their hate without being there to share the facts and say “No.” We were there to bear witness to the importance of vaccines, and to our own humanity.
Thanks also to our siblings in the UK at Autistic Inclusive Meets, who were the first to organize against VAXXED 2 screenings and inspired us in our own actions.
We will continue to update our social media about upcoming protests worldwide.
Read our fact sheet about VAXXED2 and antivax claims: VAXXED2 Fact Sheet
January 22, 2020: Autistics for Autistics, the autistic-led advocacy group, condemns the Canadian screenings of VAXXED II, a propaganda film that promotes hatred of autistic people and discourage parents from vaccinating their children against deadly diseases.
To find out what you can do to protest the screening of VAXXED 2 in Toronto, please see “Take Action” at the end of this post!
What is the antivax movement?
The anti-vaccination (antivax) movement is based on the myth that vaccines cause autism. Antivaxxers actively encourages parents not to vaccinate their children against deadly diseases. As a result of their reckless actions, the global rates of vaccination (number of people getting vaccines) has been going down.
What happens when vaccination rates go down?
Before vaccines were invented, diseases such as polio, diptheria, rubella and measles killed people in the millions. After vaccines were invented, people were protected against these diseases for several generations; in fact, for so long that some people have even forgotten how horrific a disease like polio or measles is. (These people make up the antivax movement in Europe and North America.) As vaccination rates have gone down, more people are getting sick from these deadly-but-preventable diseases.
Who is most harmed by the antivax movement?
Newborns, who do not receive most vaccines until they are a year old, are at a high risk of catching vaccine-preventable diseases from unvaccinated adults. Children whose parents did not vaccinate them are also put at risk of disease and death. There are also some individuals who medically cannot receive vaccines that rely on “herd immunity” (meaning, most people getting vaccinated) to keep from getting diseases like measles or the flu. When people don’t vaccinate, these people get very sick and can die.
Who is making money off the autism-vaccine myth?
While the myth that vaccines cause autism has been disproven many times, there are people who still make a lot of money claiming a vaccine-autism link. They go on road trips with films like VAXXED and take money from viewers. They also sell products and give interviews and conference talks for high fees. Some, like Joseph Mercola, make vast fortunes from selling the vaccine-autism lie. How does the vaccine-autism myth impact autistic people?
The autism-vaccine myth dehumanizes autistic people. Antivaxxers make no mystery of the fact that they would rather their children risk a painful death from a horrific disease than to be like one of us.
The VAXXED movie series promotes this hate, portraying us an “epidemic” and an “injury”. Those attitudes spread with every screening of the film. These films threaten the dignity, safety and rights of autistic people.
How do films like VAXXED 2 impact public health?
We are facing a serious health crisis with a resurgence of measles and other preventable diseases because some people are not vaccinating their children. Children and adults are dying of preventable diseases because of the antivax movement. When theatres show films like VAXXED 2, they compromise public health by discouraging vaccination. Those who profit from the antivax movement are replicating their ancestors’ genocidal actions, leaving the most vulnerable in our society to face severe health consequences and even death due to lowered rates of vaccination. The ugliest aspect within the antivax ideology (survival of the fittest/ ”measles is no big deal”) reflects a eugenics ideology that crosses all ethical lines in our society.
But isn’t this about learning all the facts and objectively making choices? The VAXXED film series is propaganda: it is not objective.
What we do know, objectively, is that new pandemics are coming and we must have high rates of vaccination in order to survive them. It is everyone’s responsibility to help ensure herd immunity by getting vaccinated, including for the flu.
Why are autistic people leading the movement against antivax? Because we are proud to be autistic and will not allow anyone to use our diagnosis as a pawn in their moneymaking scam.
Taking Action Autistic people across the UK, US and Canada have organized rallies and letter-writing campaigns to venues screening the film.
Here in Toronto, we are encouraging people to: Attend the protests: Jan 24 and 25, at the Kingsway Theatre, 6-9pm.
Visit the event page on FB here.
Call the theatre: (416) 232-1939
Write to the theatre: Manager, Kingsway Theatre, 3030 Bloor St W, Etobicoke, ON M8X 2Y8
Message: The Kingsway Theatre shouldn’t be showing VAXXED II. The people who made the film are making money off of lies about autism and telling people not to vaccinate their children–putting more people at risk of disease. The Kingsway theatre has a public responsibility not to run propaganda films that harm members of our Toronto community.
Thank you for standing up for our dignity, and for science!
The Ontario Government has enlisted a residential institution facing accusations of human rights violations (including one recent conviction of a staffer for attempted murder) to lead its “Mental Health Training” workshops to providers and parents of autistic children. Under the new Ontario Autism Plan, the government plans to offer 15 in-person training sessions by the provincially-operated Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI), to parents and educators “to increase understanding of children on the autism spectrum and co-occurring mental health challenges”. We are asking the government to reverse this decision and divest itself from CPRI. Institutions like it have no place in a progressive society. For information on how you raise awareness about this, please see the bottom of this post.
Background into CPRI The Child Parent Research Institute is the subject of a class action by former residents from 1963-2011, charging that many residents were harmed at CPRI and that the Ontario government, who administered the CPRI, did not protect them. According to the CBC, one complainant in the case states that he was repeatedly called “worthless” by CPRI staff and witnessed “the repeated and continuous abuse and punishment of residents by CPRI staff and other residents.” The lawsuit alleges that the Province was negligent in “its control of CPRI, resulting in physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of residents, as well as other harms.”
There have also been criminal cases. A CPRI staff member was sentenced six years ago to 20 years in prison for attempted murder for beating a 12-year old child at the CPRI, leaving him with permanent brain injuries requiring round-the-clock care. After the child was dropped off at the centre following a weekend at home with family, the staffer (Greg Simard) “took him into the woods and beat, kicked and stomped on him. When he thought the boy was dead, he left him there.” Following his arrest, Simard called the child “a drain on society”.
Located at 600 Sanitarium Road in London, Ontario, the CPRI’s former name was the Child Psychiatric Research Institution. Although it has a new name, it remains a large-scale residential institution for persons with developmental disabilities and currently houses up to 60 youth. The original sanitarium building ( opened in 1910 for inpatients and now used for outpatient business) is surrounded by 5 residential housing units where youth are kept overnight.
We cannot understand why the advisory panel would approve the training of parents and professionals by an institution like CPRI, a relic of the large residential institution era. CPRI is a Schedule 1 Facility, like the Huronia, Rideau and Southwestern Regional Centres, also residential institutions for developmentally disabled individuals which have been the subject of class actions for systemic human rights abuses (see the Clegg v. Ontario class action for citations to actions). In 2013, the Ontario government settled a class-action suit with former residents of Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia with terms including $35 million and a formal apology. Other settlements have followed.
It is our view that the CPRI – which is the subject of litigation alleging decades of human rights abuses on its premises – should not be presenting educational information to parents about how to manage their autistic children’s mental health through a government autism program. The government’s decision to engage in education through the CPRI should be cancelled.
Action Needed We are requesting that every member of the Implementation Working Group, especially its leader, Ann Huot, call for the immediate cancellation of the CPRI contract to teach parents and providers about autism and mental health.
Also, the government and former members of the Ontario Autism Advisory Panel must explain what measures of due diligence were undertaken before the decision was made to engage CPRI, and to agree to review best practices for vetting these decisions within future community advisory panels.
We hope that the government will reverse the decision and ultimately divest itself from CPRI, a vestige of Ontario’s old residential institution system which has no place in a modern, progressive Ontario.
Ontario’s large residential institutions for the developmentally disabled were a mistake: that is why the government moved to closed them down in the 1990s and early 2000s. However, some institutions such as CPRI re-branded and marketed themselves as “short term” residential settings. We agree with other disability advocates that there is simply no way to re-brand residential institutions for developmentally disabled people. They should just be closed down.
What You Can Do
If you are a parent, please do not support the initiative. For low-cost, informative and up-to-date education about raising autistic kids to be happy and healthy, we recommend the Foundations for Divergent Minds online education modules. They are inclusive and interactive, with sessions for teachers and other caregivers too.
Please write to your MPP to express your concerns. Find your MPP’s contact info here.
For Media To learn more about the history and current issues of abuse in residential institutions in Ontario, please contact us.
More Information for Survivors For information about the current class action, please visit this link.
Autistics for Autistics and other autistic-led organizations have been working hard on making inclusion happen in Canada, removing access barriers, educating the public and working to get policymakers to meaningfully consult us about autism policy. Here is some of what we’ve achieved in 2019!
Policy Advocacy Win: Proposed Legislation to End Seclusion and Restraint in Schools A4A was proud to work with parent advocates in educating provincial policymakers (MPPs) about seclusion, restraint and other abuse in Special Education settings. (Read our reports to the Ontario Government, the Government of Canada and to the United Nations).
In December, MPP Michael Coteau drafted an Ontario legislative bill to end seclusion and to regulate/track the use of restraint in schools in Ontario. (Read the Bill). Legislators will vote on the bill in the new year.
Currently, there are no uniform standards for tracking, or regulating restraint, seclusion or exclusions in Ontario schools. We have been raising the alarm about this since our founding 2 years ago, as have concerned families across the province. A4A’s reports on restraint and seclusion in special education, as well as the crucial data gathered by Autism Advocacy Ontario (AAO), were the cornerstones of beginning to document and bring attention to the magnitude of this human rights issue in our schools.
We are thankful to our members, to AAO and the incredible parents who knocked on doors at Queen’s Park — and to MPP Coteau for having the persistence to bring this Bill to a reading. We hope it is passed soon and will continue to update about this important movement!!
Policy Advocacy Win: Consultation on the Ontario Autism Plan
In 2019, for the first time in Ontario history, autistic-led advocacy groups consulted with and served in an advisory role to the provincial government on its autism policy. Amazingly, under previous governments, no autistic people were on the community panel at all!
In spring and summer of 2019, A4A members:
Met with MPs from all major parties;
Met with Provincial Ministers; and
Presented a detailed policy report to the Government through our official representative to the Community Consultation Panel on Autism Policy.
Thank you to members of the current government for seeing the need to shift gears and having the foresight to understand that disability policy should not be made without consulting the very disabled people it is designed for. There were 2 autistic representatives on the Panels, who represented 10 per cent of panelists. It’s a great start (coming from 0%) and we are looking forward to sharing more of our resources, ideas and experiences with provincial policymakers in the coming years.
The CBC and AMI reached out and interviewed the autistic panelists. Thank you to the wonderful reporters who dug into the story with openness and curiosity! We were proud to share these stories with our families, friends and community.
By contrast, the Toronto Star never interviewed the autistic panelists, but rather labeled autistic panelists as “outsiders” and A4A as “anti-science”. The Star also referred to a mainstreaming change, where Ontario Kindergartens would be welcoming less than one autistic student on average, as a dangerous “influx” of autistic students. This is extreme bias in reporting. The Star would not retract clear factual errors and its Public Editor did not even respond to letters by autistic Ontarians. Please boycott the Star.
Education: Groundbreaking Initiatives in 2019, A4A was active in education outreach throughout our communities. A4A members:
Took part in the access and inclusion panel at Arch Disability Law’s Annual General Meeting;
Met with Centre for Independent Living Toronto to discuss children’s rights and plan our Little Free Neurodiversity Library, which will launch in spring 2020!
Neurodiversity Flag Raising at City Hall On April 15, for the first time in history, the Neurodiversity Flag flew at a City Hall in Ontario! Taking a cue from activists around the world, we gathered and raised the rainbow infinity flag to celebrate our pride. Afterwards, we had an awesome hangout–with cake–making this historic moment even sweeter. Read more about the event here.
Community: Building Connections and Coalitions A4A became an official International Affiliate of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network in 2019!! We also co-founded Canada’s first coalition of autistic self-advocacy groups, Autistic Advocates’ Coalition of Canada. We are excited to be supporting and connecting with ASAN and for the powerful coalition we have built nationally with Autistics United Canada and London Autistics Standing Together.
Our parent auxiliary and general membership continue to build bridges across generations and between autistic adults and neurotypical parents. We join together for discussion, culture and political advocacy, perhaps most importantly this year to educate and inform about seclusion and restraint.
We connected across disabilities with a broad range of disability rights groups in solidarity and connection. We also did activism across many intersecting identities—standing against racism, taking part in LGBT pride events, marching with our sister Greta Thunberg in her Montreal and Calgary rallies and joining in solidarity against the concentration camps at the US/Mexico border at the vigil outside the US consulate in Toronto.
Vigil and Direct Actions In addition to joining in the above direct actions, A4A organized the Toronto vigil for the International Disability Day of Mourning, which happens in cities around the world on March 1. At the vigil, advocates comes together to remember disabled victims of filicide – people who were murdered by their family members/caregivers. It is a difficult but important day. Thank you to everyone who came out to remember and to say: never again.
We also organized a counter-protest to the Autism Speaks fundraising walk. Autism Speaks supports research into eugenics trying to prevent people like us from being born. Autism Speaks Canada gives more than $500,000 per year to MSSNG, the world’s largest Whole Genome Autism Study, attempting to identify autism-linked genes which, if found, would be part of prenatal testing and eugenics. Also, few of AS’s donor dollars go to services; 51 percent of their Canadian budget is consumed by overhead costs, well beyond the reasonable range according to charity watchdogs. We are thankful to all those who counter-leafleted and also those who offered support.
Several of our members also stood in counter-protested to Ontario Autism Coalition rallies. Like most other grassroots autism groups, A4A does not support the OAC’s mandate (for autism funding to be only for ABA). Our members leafleted and talked with attendees about different approaches to policy and about inclusion and the Neurodiversity movement.
Our Reports: Blueprints for Genuine Reform
The old model of autism policy in Canada goes something like this: “Do the same thing, but more of it…and maybe with a new name.” We don’t buy into that approach at all: it is the reason that 80% of federally funded housing for autistic and IDD folks is still segregated housing, and why more—not less—autistic and IDD students are being streamed into segregated classes in this country. We need a total paradigm shift in Canadian autism policy and autistic-led groups will be a major part of it.
A4A wrote a report to the Government of Ontario, outlining needed reforms in the following areas: AAC/communication access; early childhood programs; inclusive education; transition to adulthood; employment; housing; health care; and reform to autism services and funding models. We consulted with experts on all areas of the report and shared it with leaders in every party at Queen’s Park. We also met in person with our MPPs and presented our recommendations at public forums led by them. Thank you to all our members who created, researched, wrote, communicated and showed up to advocate!
A4A also delivered a Report and Recommendations on autism and disability policy to the Government of Canada. We are working directly with our own MPs in the hopes that the Government of Canada will begin to shift its course away from segregation and towards inclusion and acceptance of autistic and intellectually/developmentally disabled (IDD) Canadians.
Our members have worked to keep children safe from phony autism cures that include bleach, turpentine, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, THC, severe food restrictions, phony stem cell “cures” and chelation. One of our members is currently advocating to stop chelation as an autism treatment in Ontario and the case is going to a judicial review in 2020.
What’s coming up in 2020? In 2020, we will have big news about open hearings into human rights in special education. It is time to bring transparency to the special education system in Ontario!
A4A will also be rolling out our traveling Neurodiversity Lending Library, traveling around the province and permanently housed at CILT.
We will be doing more outreach on AAC and communication rights, employment, housing, inclusive education and access to health care.
We will continue to support human rights for children …despite being told by one MP that we should “just focus on autistic adults.” We were all children once and we remember and know very well the systems that keep autistic and IDD children trapped in segregation–and that have led to segregation, poverty and inequality in our own lives. We owe it to the next generation to do all we can to pave the way for equality, access and inclusion.
Our activism is strong because we do not stay confined in the tiny world of in-group self-interest. We are united with all disabled people, of all backgrounds, ages and identities, towards a more just Canada. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with parents and families who want equality, inclusion and safety for their children. As part of the neurodiversity movement we are motivated by concern for human rights, not profit. In that way, our movement is a disrupter of the existing autism service industry. Because at the end of the day, inclusion mainly requires an investment from the heart.
We hope you will join and support us in 2020! Thank you.
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