QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Health
Framework for Autism in Canada
March 25, 2026
Minister, this month will mark three years since our Bill S-203, which is a bill asking for a federal framework on the Autism Spectrum Disorder Act, passed. I say “our bill” because it passed unanimously in the Senate and the House of Commons. The act requires your government to deliver a coordinated, accountable federal framework to improve the lives of autistic Canadians and their families, and they were very hopeful about that bill. Yet, stakeholders across the country continue to report a lack of transparency, limited alignment with provinces and no clear evidence of sustained implementation.
As the minister responsible for advancing this framework, can you please point to a single measurable outcome that has been achieved under your strategy that the government put out — I think now a year and a half ago — which has let down the autistic community in Canada?
The first thing I want to tell you is that we haven’t let the autistic community down. We’re actually taking a close look at the autistic community. We’re looking into a number of cases across the country involving people with autism. We’re certainly taking a careful look at this community and working with it closely.
What have we seen in concrete terms? As you know, the strategy has been in place for about a year. In that time, we’ve had an election, but as you also know, the government has made a specific organization responsible for managing the program resulting from the strategy.
Minister, with all due respect, your answer is exactly why we put forward a framework. I hear from the community across the country, and there are hundreds of thousands of young people who feel alone. They have tremendous skill sets that can be harnessed to help out our country, but they need a little bit more effort. We should do far better than we have. We are leaving these people behind and allowing families in this country to feel as if they have fallen behind as well.
The unemployment rate amongst the neurodivergent community is astronomical, and these are young people who want to work, do things, be active and feel useful. As a society, if we don’t emulsify all our elements into one powerful mixture, we will never achieve our goal. This is not a question, minister. I’d like you to look at the framework and put it into action.
Thank you, senator. I will take another close look at the framework and get back to you on that. As I mentioned, we are working closely with an organization that provides us with recommendations.
