The government allotted $10 million for dementia support, including respite care for families, but not a single dollar of this commitment has ever been spent.

The recent report on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act stated that without a significant change in direction, the Ford government would fail to make Ontario fully accessible by 2025—however, rather than increasing efforts to meet the needs of Ontarians with disabilities, the budget for this ministry has been cut by $50 million.

The Ford government also shot down my bill to create an advocate for older adults as an independent officer of the Legislature; however, creating an independent advocate remains one of the primary recommendations of seniors’ organizations across the province, including RTOERO, which represents 80,000 retirees from the education sector.

With such a large gap between rhetoric and what is actually being done, the Ford government is gaslighting older adults and people with disabilities. This needs to change.

I am calling on the government to create an independent advocate to address the needs of older adults, guarantee the funding needed to make Ontario fully accessible, and get those dollars out the door to support dementia services.