Ottawa West-Nepean’s new MPP vows autism services to be a priority
One of the first people Jeremy Roberts thanked when he won the provincial riding of Ottawa West-Nepean Thursday night was his brother Dillon.
“My brother has shaped who I am today,” Roberts told ecstatic supporters after his late-night win by a slim margin.
Dillon Roberts, who at 25 is just a year younger than his provincial politician brother, spent most of the night at campaign headquarters with his parents, wearing sound-deadening headphones. Dillon, who has autism, headed home to bed before his brother’s win was confirmed.
But Roberts said his brother and his family’s challenges getting services and supports for him would define his work as a Conservative MPP.
And he said he believes the Doug Ford government will be a strong supporter of families with special needs children.
That might come as a surprise to some.
In his past political life, on Toronto city council, Ford outraged many by saying an Etobicoke home for teenagers with autism had “ruined the community” and suggesting the teenagers were criminals. He also told the father of an autistic son who filed a complaint to “go to hell.”
Roberts, who previously worked for federal Conservative finance minister Jim Flaherty — who had a special-needs son — says he is confident the provincial Conservatives will be good for families like his.
“One of the first things I did when I became a candidate was (I) went down to Toronto and set up a meeting with Doug and some of the major autism stakeholder groups and we talked about the challenges facing folks with special needs.”
Ford, he said, has committed to providing $100-million more than is currently provided for autism services in the province.
Roberts said a program providing service dogs for people with autism is being expanded, among other things.
One of his goals is to help solve the housing crisis for specialneeds adults, something that has touched his own family, he said. He acknowledged Ford has not made any announcements of money for special needs housing, “but it is going to be a personal cause that I champion going forward.”
It is yet to be seen how the Ford government will support the health and social services sector, but Roberts said there is strong support among the members of the newly elected caucus for the issue.
That includes, in addition to Roberts, Christine Elliott (Flaherty’s widow and the mother of a disabled son) and a new MPP from Kitchener who has two autistic children.
“I think Doug Ford is just happy to have a strong caucus with folks from a diverse amount of backgrounds,” he said.
“I think this is going to be a huge priority for our government and we are going to do the late Jim Flaherty proud.
“He left a legacy behind of fiscal responsibility and social compassion for the disabled and that is what we are going to build on.”