BOTHWELL, ON--(Marketwired - June 27, 2017) - Autism Canada has withdrawn its membership in the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance (CASDA) and its support of the Canadian Autism Partnership Project (CAPP).
"As presented in its final form, CAPP is not a good plan. Moving forward, we will focus our efforts on working with our partners in the autism community and with the federal government to create an effective national autism strategy for all Canadians, to ensure equal opportunity and support for individuals with autism throughout their lifespan, regardless of where they reside in Canada," said Dermot Cleary, Chair of Autism Canada's board of directors.
"Our reasons for our withdrawal of support are threefold; a lack of financial disclosure, lack of transparency and lack of concrete, measurable deliverables."
"To the best of our knowledge, full disclosure of the CAPP financial documents have yet to be made public," said Cleary. "Based on the financial statements that were provided to us, we don't see justification for the stated fees and costs associated with the project."
"In our view and opinion, there are several important gaps in project governance and reporting mechanisms that would allow for full transparency of the spending of public funds, and this is clearly not in keeping current with best practices," added Cleary.
"As the only autism advocacy organization with a national perspective on the issues currently facing those with ASD, their families and other stakeholders, Autism Canada believes it is incumbent upon us to provide a strong voice for those affected by autism and to make our concerns known to all Canadians," said Cleary.
"We look forward to working with government to share our expertise, build consensus and help inform public health policy as it regards access to evidence-based treatments of autism."
"On behalf of our stakeholders, we will act as the catalyst to align and galvanize our provincial and territorial partners to ensure a synergized and equitable approach to the provision and delivery of evidence-based treatments is available to all Canadians."
About Autism Canada
Autism Canada is the only autism advocacy organization with a national perspective on the issues currently facing those with ASD, their families and other stakeholders. Together with our provincial and territorial counterparts, Autism Canada collaboratively works to share expertise, build consensus and help inform public health policy as it regards access to evidence-based treatments of autism. In addition to encouraging the sharing of best practices across provincial boundaries, Autism Canada actively promotes national dialogue on the most effective strategies for building equitable access to funding and services.
To learn more, please visit www.autismcanada.org.
Registered Charitable Number
13160 7657 RR0001
Contact Information:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Dermot Cleary
Chair, Autism Canada
416-274-4469
dcleary@autismcanada.org