Ontarians with disabilities deserve better than the Wynne Liberals

After 15 years, Ontarians with disabilities feel let down by Kathleen Wynne – and it's easy to see why.

After years of funding freezes to ODSP rates at the hands of Harris Conservatives – causing people with disabilities to fall far behind – Wynne refused to make it right and close the gap on supports.

Wynne Liberals rolled back the Ontarians with Disabilities Act requirement for businesses with 50 workers or less to develop a written accessibility plan that is available to the public.

And in 2014, Wynne cut the Work-Related Benefit for working ODSP recipients, denying individuals who receive this support $100 per month in needed income.

Doug Ford will make things worse for Ontarians with disabilities. He has promised to cut over $6 billion in services and supports across the board – and vowed to ‘leave no stone unturned’ when it comes to privatizing government services. For Ontarians who count on public services and programs – from OSDP to transit – Ford’s privatization would be devastating.

Andrea Horwath and the NDP platform has laid out a better way forward for Ontarians with disabilities, including:

• Fully implementing the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
• Ensuing individuals with developmental disabilities will be able to continue to receive supports when they turn 18, without having to reapply
• Increasing support for individuals receiving ODSP by 5 per cent for the next three years and creating an independent panel that will set future rates based on income adequacy
• Creating 30,000 new affordable housing units and earmarking a portion of social housing units for Ontarians with developmental and intellectual disabilities
• Investing $67 million annually in increasing support for agencies that provide services to adults with developmental disabilities so they can participate in their communities, have options for public services, and have a great quality of life