Letter-Writing Campaign - In English (En Français)
Bill C-304
The Federal government of Canada will shortly be re-opening this bill for debate. It is important that the citizens of Canada be heard on this matter. If you share my concerns regarding the appropriateness of this bill, please write to your MP and any other government officials you consider important. You can locate their names and contact information at the Parliament of Canada web site.
Please note that the Liberals introduced this bill, so it is unlikely to receive much support from the Conservatives. This is a good thing, but we still run the risk of it being put to Committee, which will likely result in - yet again - decisions being made about the welfare of autistic Canadians without getting a properly representative sampling of their opinions.
The basic gist of this bill is that, if passed, the Canada Health Act will be amended so that the government will fund Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)/Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) treatment for autism. This will be called "medically necessary" treatment, and it will be the only treatment funded under the amendment. For the official document, click here.
I will be sending a hand-written letter before the end of January, as the debate is set to open on February 15.
Here are the basic points I will be addressing:
- It is inappropriate to single out autism when no other condition is singled out by the Canada Health Act.
- ABA/IBI is not as proven as its proponents say it is, and its effects rarely (if ever) are truly positive or consistent across the client's lifespan.
- There are some problems with ABA/IBI as it is currently practiced, mainly due to the theories on which it is based. Good intentions do not make everything okay.
- Keeping in mind that ABA/IBI will be a medical treatment, is the government prepared to deal with the repercussions of this, including medical licensing for ABA professionals and proper oversight of the programs?
- There is more than one type of ABA/IBI in existence, and there is no mention made in this bill as to which type(s) will be considered "medically necessary".
- Autism is not something that can currently be diagnosed based on medical testing.
- Autistic people do not suffer specifically from their autism. Rather, their perception is different from that of non-autistic people, and this can cause some difficulty. Since it also grants many abilities, this cannot be considered to be a cause of suffering across the board.
- If this bill is passed, it will set precedent for future discrimination against and oppression of all disabled/disordered Canadians.
- This bill was written without input from autistic people.
Some tips for your letter:
- If possible, hand write your letter. This ensures that it will be read. The people who open the mail will just dump out the typed pages. If your handwriting is not neat, typing will do - the point is to get them a large number of letters, all about the same thing.
- Write your letter on nice stationery. If it is personalised, that is even better. I used Word to create my letterhead, which includes my business logo at the top and my address at the bottom.
- Use your own words and feel free to change up the order of the points. Don't copy what I've written on this page and use that as your letter! You should read the bill and read my points, then decide how you want to say it yourself. If you come up with any new angles, please pass them along to me.
- Proofread your letter before you mail it - you want it legible and you need it to be error-free (as much as possible).
- Don't blame or insult the government. I will be opening my letter with some praise, and then going into my points about the bill. If you tell the government that it is stupid, then the government will decide that you are not worth listening to. I know that makes little sense, but it's how people are. Nobody wants to listen to someone who merely complains.
Let me know about your support!
I would love to collect copies of your letters, so if you choose to write to the government about this bill, please consider e-mailing me a copy as well. You can scan in your handwritten letter and send me the picture, or you can type it out and e-mail me that. Alternatively, you can send me a photocopy of your handwritten letter via Canada Post (e-mail me for my mailing address), and I will scan it and post it on a special page here on this web site.
Even if you don't want your letter posted, please e-mail me and tell me that you wrote, so that I can have a record of how many letters have been sent. I'll be keeping a tally here on this page.
In addition, if you are a non-Canadian and you support our efforts, please send me an e-mail giving me your country of origin, so that I can keep track of how much support this effort has around the world.