My question is for the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Numerous families, including Sarah and her son Félix Demers, in Ottawa–Vanier are facing unreasonable challenges with the Ontario Autism Program. Sarah started the process to get help for her son three years ago, but she came across multiple barriers and wait-lists. As a result, her son Félix, who is now five years old, has aged out of programs in school. These children are being left behind.

What measures has the minister taken to address the wait-lists, ensuring timely access to essential support services for children with autism spectrum disorder?

Families face significant uncertainty while waiting for support from the autism program. Families are receiving no assistance and no communication as to when they might be able to get help.

Sarah told me, “We have now been waiting years for help, during the most vital years of our son’s developmental stages and just remain on the OAP’s wait-list as a generic number.”

The lack of communication is distressing and unacceptable. The least the government could do to reduce the distress of those waiting families is to establish a user-friendly communications platform through which families could at least track the progress of their applications.

What steps will the minister take to ensure that families, including Félix’s, have transparent and timely access to information regarding the status of their applications?