Close to 40 people gathered in front of Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Maureen Kubinec’s office last Tuesday to protest the pending cuts to Persons with Developmental Disabilities.
The May 21 rally had developmentally disabled individuals, caregivers and friends and family surrounding the front of Kubinec’s office at 99 Avenue and 107 Street in Westlock, holding signs and chanting, “Stop the cuts!” for about 20 minutes.
In addition, several people got up on the front steps and addressed the crowd, talking about how the cuts could affect them and those they care for.
After the demonstration had ended, Joe Williams, who has a developmental disability, said he and his peers were “sick of this nonsense” from the government.
Shelley Meakin-Chamzuk, a mother who has a daughter who receives PDD services, explained the protest was a way to make people aware of the pending cuts given the cone of silence that seems to have enveloped the Legislature.
“The opposition parties have been told to shut up and not talk to us or talk to the public,” she said. “So we’re trying to get it out there that the government’s going to be cutting $1 million from this area.”
Protest leader Sherilyn McCallum said her concerns stem in part from the fact the government has been deceitful in revealing changes to PDD programming across the province.
She explained the new assessment tool – the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) – is not a bad idea, but what is problematic is attaching funding to the new system.
“When the government started this process, they said funds would not be attached to it,” McCallum said. However, on April 20 the government announced funding would be dependent on a person’s SIS score.
By attaching funding, it means some people will lose a large amount of the money they need to pay for the care they require, she said. That means many people with differing levels of needs might end up in a group home together in order to afford 24-hour care.
“The government is not even thinking broad,” McCallum said. “They’re just thinking dollars, which is so sad because these people are more than dollars.”
Looking at the Northeast PDD region, McCallum said close to $9 million is being removed. That lost funding could result in 260 full-time positions being lost.
