My question is to the Premier. April 1 is fast approaching, and parents of children with autism are worried. After meeting with local trustees in Oshawa, it is clear that parents of children with autism who will be transitioning from the ending legacy autism program and into schools don’t have answers about what will happen after April 1, once that legacy program is over.

Parents who are going in to register their children for school are met with surprised principals and no plans for support. At a time when special education needs are already terribly underfunded, my question is: What is this government doing to support students with autism to ensure a successful, smooth and supported transition from the legacy program into the classroom?

What we’ve been doing is reaching out to thousands of children’s families through emails, letters and phone calls, to make sure that they understand this process. We have ensured that the children are aware and their families are aware that they need to be registered for the OAP—which is a new, comprehensive, needs-based program—and we’ve been working across multiple ministries, including with the Ministry of Education, to make sure that those transitions are what they need to be, because that’s what we’ve heard from families: that the transition points—whether it’s entry to school, whether it’s movement from childhood to adulthood—are hard for families. They’re hard for children. That’s exactly why we’ve doubled the funding for autism. That’s why we have five times as many children receiving supports. Tens of thousands of families and children are receiving more supports than ever before under this program, something that the previous government never planned to do and never built the capacity for.

This government has done more than any government in the history of this province. And while the member opposite wants to share dramatics, I’m hard at work creating the programs that are needed to support the children of this province.