Latest news with #CommunityandSocialServices
Hamilton Spectator
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario to give education minister power to more easily take over school boards
TORONTO - Ontario is set to give the minister of education power to more easily put school boards under supervision and require more boards to put police officers in schools. The Canadian Press has learned that Education Minister Paul Calandra will introduce broad legislation today, following weeks of warnings to boards that he would implement tougher oversight. Calandra announced in April that the province had taken control of one school board by appointing a supervisor due to financial 'mismanagement' and was launching financial investigations of three others, describing his actions as putting all boards 'on notice.' The legislation is set to expand the reasons for initiating an investigation or putting a board under supervision beyond just financial ones, to include matters of public interest. In a news release set to be released later today, the government gives an example of 'board governance dysfunction that is preventing key decisions from being made.' As well, Ontario would require school boards to implement a School Resource Officer program if the local police service offers one. Some school boards have such programs on a voluntary basis, while others ended their programs several years ago, after some students reported feeling uncomfortable or intimidated and some racialized communities raised concerns. The government materials say having more school resource officers would 'help build relationships between youth and police, actively promote positive behaviour and create a culture of mutual respect.' The bill would also give the minister power to direct school boards to publicly post expenses of trustees, the director of education and others, and would give the minister power over school names when boards open new schools or want to change an existing name. The legislation also contains measures directed at the post-secondary system, including requiring post-secondary admissions policies to be merit-based and requiring colleges and universities to provide detailed breakdowns of how tuition fee revenue is used. As well, the bill would allow the government to 'require transparency and increased oversight of ancillary fees at post-secondary institutions,' reminiscent of a court battle from the early days of the Doug Ford government. Ford's government enacted its 'Student Choice Initiative' in 2019, which made some post-secondary fees optional, such as for student unions, but the province's top court struck it down. This legislation instead lays the groundwork for the government to consult with the sector to decide which ancillary fees cover core services, and determine an opt-out mechanism. Children's aid societies have also been under the Ford government microscope, with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services launching a review of them in the fall, and they, too, are subject to increased scrutiny in this bill. The legislation would increase the government's oversight of certain financial decisions, to be 'outlined in future regulations.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ontario to give education minister power to more easily take over school boards
TORONTO – Ontario is set to give the minister of education power to more easily put school boards under supervision and require more boards to put police officers in schools. The Canadian Press has learned that Education Minister Paul Calandra will introduce broad legislation today, following weeks of warnings to boards that he would implement tougher oversight. Calandra announced in April that the province had taken control of one school board by appointing a supervisor due to financial 'mismanagement' and was launching financial investigations of three others, describing his actions as putting all boards 'on notice.' The legislation is set to expand the reasons for initiating an investigation or putting a board under supervision beyond just financial ones, to include matters of public interest. In a news release set to be released later today, the government gives an example of 'board governance dysfunction that is preventing key decisions from being made.' As well, Ontario would require school boards to implement a School Resource Officer program if the local police service offers one. Some school boards have such programs on a voluntary basis, while others ended their programs several years ago, after some students reported feeling uncomfortable or intimidated and some racialized communities raised concerns. The government materials say having more school resource officers would 'help build relationships between youth and police, actively promote positive behaviour and create a culture of mutual respect.' The bill would also give the minister power to direct school boards to publicly post expenses of trustees, the director of education and others, and would give the minister power over school names when boards open new schools or want to change an existing name. The legislation also contains measures directed at the post-secondary system, including requiring post-secondary admissions policies to be merit-based and requiring colleges and universities to provide detailed breakdowns of how tuition fee revenue is used. As well, the bill would allow the government to 'require transparency and increased oversight of ancillary fees at post-secondary institutions,' reminiscent of a court battle from the early days of the Doug Ford government. Ford's government enacted its 'Student Choice Initiative' in 2019, which made some post-secondary fees optional, such as for student unions, but the province's top court struck it down. This legislation instead lays the groundwork for the government to consult with the sector to decide which ancillary fees cover core services, and determine an opt-out mechanism. Children's aid societies have also been under the Ford government microscope, with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services launching a review of them in the fall, and they, too, are subject to increased scrutiny in this bill. The legislation would increase the government's oversight of certain financial decisions, to be 'outlined in future regulations.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
16-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario boosts autism budget to $779M, advocates question where money is going
TORONTO - Ontario is increasing funding for its autism program to $779 million this year, the government announced in this week's budget, but advocates say it's not yet clear exactly where that money will go. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy's budget, tabled Thursday, contains two lines on the Ontario Autism Program, including touting the new funding. Children, Community and Social Services Minister Michael Parsa's office has not yet offered details on how the money will be used, but the Ontario Autism Coalition fears it will not all go toward therapy for children. 'We're very happy about any increase to the budget,' said coalition president Alina Cameron. 'It's very welcome and it's needed. But the way it's laid out, it just raises a lot more questions than answers for us.' Last year's budget for the program was about $720 million, but Cameron said previous boosts of about $60 million don't seem to have made a huge difference in the wait list. Figures obtained by the autism coalition through a freedom-of-information request show that as of early February, nearly 80,000 children and youth were registered to seek services through the program, but only about 17,650 were in an active agreement for core therapy funds. 'The rate of registration is higher than the rate of entry to core clinical services,' Cameron said. 'We don't really see a big change of services at the user end, based upon these yearly increases. They often just get absorbed into system costs, rather than reaching families.' Parsa recently touted in the legislature that more than 45,000 families are receiving 'multiple services and supports.' The Ontario Autism Program offers an entry-to-school program, urgent response services and some family services, but families often access those as they wait for core clinical services funding, which they can use to pay for key therapy such as applied behaviour analysis, speech-language pathology and occupational therapy. Most families want core services and they are now waiting more than five years from the time they register, Cameron said. 'Early intervention is effectively dead in Ontario at this point,' she said. NDP autism critic Alexa Gilmour says she wonders how much of the new funding is going to direct supports, since the government has previously indicated the program is adding more staff. 'We don't know how much is going to core services, how much is going to administration,' she said. 'We do know that they're adding more staffing, but the wait list has ballooned.' Aside from the long wait to qualify for government funding, Gilmour said, families are reporting difficulty finding available providers even once they have money in hand. 'I think that (money) is a drop in the bucket that doesn't close the gap,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.
Global News
16-05-2025
- Health
- Global News
Ontario boosts autism budget to $779M, advocates question where money is going
Ontario is increasing funding for its autism program to $779 million this year, the government announced in this week's budget, but advocates say it's not yet clear exactly where that money will go. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy's budget, tabled Thursday, contains two lines on the Ontario Autism Program, including touting the new funding. Children, Community and Social Services Minister Michael Parsa's office has not yet offered details on how the money will be used, but the Ontario Autism Coalition fears it will not all go toward therapy for children. 'We're very happy about any increase to the budget,' said coalition president Alina Cameron. 'It's very welcome and it's needed. But the way it's laid out, it just raises a lot more questions than answers for us.' Last year's budget for the program was about $720 million, but Cameron said previous boosts of about $60 million don't seem to have made a huge difference in the wait list. Story continues below advertisement Figures obtained by the autism coalition through a freedom-of-information request show that as of early February, nearly 80,000 children and youth were registered to seek services through the program, but only about 17,650 were in an active agreement for core therapy funds. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'The rate of registration is higher than the rate of entry to core clinical services,' Cameron said. 'We don't really see a big change of services at the user end, based upon these yearly increases. They often just get absorbed into system costs, rather than reaching families.' Parsa recently touted in the legislature that more than 45,000 families are receiving 'multiple services and supports.' The Ontario Autism Program offers an entry-to-school program, urgent response services and some family services, but families often access those as they wait for core clinical services funding, which they can use to pay for key therapy such as applied behaviour analysis, speech-language pathology and occupational therapy. Most families want core services and they are now waiting more than five years from the time they register, Cameron said. 'Early intervention is effectively dead in Ontario at this point,' she said. NDP autism critic Alexa Gilmour says she wonders how much of the new funding is going to direct supports, since the government has previously indicated the program is adding more staff. Story continues below advertisement 'We don't know how much is going to core services, how much is going to administration,' she said. 'We do know that they're adding more staffing, but the wait list has ballooned.' Aside from the long wait to qualify for government funding, Gilmour said, families are reporting difficulty finding available providers even once they have money in hand. 'I think that (money) is a drop in the bucket that doesn't close the gap,' she said.
Winnipeg Free Press
16-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ontario boosts autism budget to $779M, advocates question where money is going
TORONTO – Ontario's budget says it is increasing funding for the autism program to $779 million this year, but advocates say it's not yet clear exactly where that money will go. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy's budget, tabled Thursday, contains two lines on the Ontario Autism Program, including touting the new funding. Children, Community and Social Services Minister Michael Parsa's office has not yet offered details on how the money will be used, but the Ontario Autism Coalition fears it will not all go toward therapy for children. Last year's budget for the program was about $720 million, and autism coalition president Alina Cameron says while any increase in funding is welcome, previous boosts of about $60 million don't seem to have made a huge difference in the wait list. Figures obtained by the autism coalition through a freedom-of-information request show that as of early February, nearly 80,000 children and youth were registered to seek services through the program, but only about 20,000 had signed agreements to get core therapy funds. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. NDP autism critic Alexa Gilmour says she wonders how much of the new funding is going to direct supports and how much is going toward administration, since the government has previously indicated the program is adding more staff. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.
