The Blueprint: Canada's Conservative Podcast - June 14, 2017


Liberals continue to fail Canadian Autism Partnership

Topics
Canadian Autism Partnership autism employment challenges
Hosted by
Jamie Schmal
Mentioned
Tony Clement Mike Lake Conservative Podcast MikeLakeMP Instagram Elizabeth May Speaker Blaine
Conservatives united： Andrew Scheer’s victory speech in Toronto Justin Trudeau’s payout to a terrorist

Episode Stats


Length

11 minutes

Words per minute

177.15

Word count

2,015

Sentence count

144


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode, Conservative MP Mike Lake talks about the Canadian Autism Partnership and how it aims to improve the lives of people with autism across the country. Mike Lake is a father of a child with autism and has been involved in advocacy for autism since the early days of his son, Jaden, who was diagnosed with ASD at the age of three years old. He has been a long-time advocate for the autism community and has dedicated his life to advocating for the needs of people on the autism spectrum.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.480 You're listening to The Blueprint, Canada's Conservative Podcast.
00:00:08.200 Well, they thought they were going to have an easy day over there today, but not so fast, Mr. Speaker.
00:00:15.600 What is it going to take for the Prime Minister to have any respect for any laws in this country that may curb his out-of-control behaviour?
00:00:27.100 And now, here's your host, Tony Clement.
00:00:30.500 And welcome to The Blueprint, Canada's official Conservative Podcast.
00:00:36.200 It's great to be your host, Tony Clement, Member of Parliament for Paris-Saint-Muskoka,
00:00:40.380 where we talk about the current issues that are before Parliament, some of the debates that we're having,
00:00:45.980 some of the contentious issues that Canadians care about.
00:00:49.620 And I'm very happy to have with me Mike Lake.
00:00:52.360 He's the Conservative Member for Edmonton...
00:00:55.360 Wetaskiwin.
00:00:58.380 Wetaskiwin.
00:00:58.940 Okay, that one's new.
00:01:02.060 Is that a new name?
00:01:02.840 That's a new...
00:01:03.860 Well, Blaine was the Member of Parliament for Wetaskiwin before, but this is a new riding Edmonton-Wetaskiwin.
00:01:08.280 Well, Edmonton-Wetaskiwin voters, I apologise in advance, but we've got a great MP in Mike Lake,
00:01:14.080 and he's doing a lot of work on a lot of issues, of course.
00:01:16.540 But one that we want to talk about today is the Canadian Autism Partnership.
00:01:21.020 Tell us a little bit about that and a little bit about how you came to be involved in this important issue.
00:01:27.700 Well, first of all, my son, Jaden, has autism.
00:01:30.780 He's 21 years old now.
00:01:33.480 He's been fortunate to grow up in Alberta where services have been pretty strong for people with autism,
00:01:39.140 particularly kids with autism.
00:01:40.340 But not everybody in the country has the same opportunity.
00:01:43.900 And so not that long after I was elected, I realised that there was a sort of a platform that I had.
00:01:50.180 That wasn't what got me into politics in the first place,
00:01:52.320 but that there was a platform that I had as a parent of a child with autism
00:01:55.400 and that there were a lot of Canadians in the same boat who didn't have access to the same services that Jaden had.
00:02:02.320 And so we worked for many years to try and bring the autism community together to come up with ideas.
00:02:09.240 Some of those years, you were the health minister.
00:02:10.940 I remember.
00:02:11.260 You remember some of the conversations that we had at the time and took some steps forward.
00:02:16.520 But we really took a big step forward in 2015.
00:02:20.440 So after doing some pretty cool things, stepping stones along the way in 2015,
00:02:26.440 we started a Canadian Autism Partnership working group,
00:02:30.660 12 experts from across the country to put forward a plan for a Canadian Autism Partnership.
00:02:36.400 So these are experts in the autism research community and, I guess, representatives of parents and so on and that kind of thing?
00:02:44.720 Parents, stakeholders who would run organisations.
00:02:47.900 We've got some fantastic organisations plus four top researchers, world-class researchers who work in Canada
00:02:54.200 who are part of this partnership working group.
00:02:56.880 And so they came up with a plan of action, basically.
00:02:59.820 They did and submitted a business plan in the fall of 2016
00:03:05.100 and a budget ask for $19 million of the government of the day.
00:03:09.840 And interestingly, the Liberal members of Parliament,
00:03:13.340 over half of their caucus signed support letters for the Canadian Autism Partnership.
00:03:16.780 They wanted to see it happen at the time.
00:03:21.320 Even the minister herself, I think, eventually asked for it in the budget.
00:03:25.700 Now, tell us a little bit about what that $19 million would go to.
00:03:29.700 Like, what's the end goal that you want to see reached with that $19 million?
00:03:36.200 We want to see, you know, really, because most of the challenges are provincial in nature,
00:03:39.860 you've got to respect jurisdiction.
00:03:40.980 So what this does is really, it's a partnership of the organisations across the country.
00:03:45.780 So it's not a new organisation or another competing organisation.
00:03:49.200 Really, it's meant to be a partnership of all of the organisations working together,
00:03:52.860 speaking with one voice, advising governments in their jurisdiction
00:03:55.900 on things like early intervention or education or housing or vocation.
00:04:01.260 Or, you know, what happens when mum and dad die?
00:04:04.940 What happens to people with autism then?
00:04:06.740 Because this is a big concern for families living with someone with autism.
00:04:10.940 And this sort of expert partnership working to provide the best evidence base possible,
00:04:20.560 scouring the planet for the best practices in all of these areas and advising governments
00:04:24.480 so Canadian government's policymakers can make the best decisions they possibly can.
00:04:27.800 So that's it. There's a lot of different things going on in different jurisdictions.
00:04:32.300 Some of it very, very progressive and innovative when it comes to autism
00:04:37.700 in terms of incorporating autism people into our society
00:04:43.740 and making sure that they have the right resources available to them.
00:04:47.840 Is that what we're trying to do?
00:04:49.320 Absolutely. And, you know, autism is a challenge that faces people across a lifespan.
00:04:53.960 And, of course, it's a spectrum.
00:04:55.020 So people at different places in the spectrum have different challenges.
00:04:58.540 And we have to be careful that we make sure that we address those challenges.
00:05:01.400 But, you know, commonality that you would have is difficulty in social interactions
00:05:06.720 and understanding, you know, what understanding the abstract, I guess, in a sense.
00:05:12.720 So something like a job interview for someone with autism,
00:05:14.980 even at the higher IQ end, is very, very difficult.
00:05:17.900 You might have someone that can get a degree in engineering
00:05:19.720 because they're really good at the math.
00:05:21.640 But that social interaction that helps them to get a job
00:05:24.460 is something that's very, very difficult for them.
00:05:26.480 At that part of the spectrum, you deal with significant mental health issues as well.
00:05:30.360 So because people are just a little bit different, they might get bullied mercilessly.
00:05:34.720 Right.
00:05:35.020 But also because that social interaction is tough for them,
00:05:38.040 they'd have a very difficult time dealing with that
00:05:40.160 and understanding how to deal with it.
00:05:41.380 So you're getting bullied, but you don't know what to do about it, right?
00:05:43.580 We see in the employment market, 85% of people with autism are not employed.
00:05:49.300 And that's a challenge because there's incredible skills and abilities
00:05:51.720 that if we can tap into those skills and abilities in terms of structure and order
00:05:55.180 and those types of things, a lot of things that other people don't even want to do,
00:05:59.180 people with autism love to do those things.
00:06:01.440 And so Jaden, in his case, he loves to work in the library.
00:06:03.840 He loves to sort things and sort books or, you know, he loves doing laundry
00:06:07.420 and sorting things and taking it to where it belongs or emptying the dishwasher,
00:06:10.980 things like that.
00:06:12.200 Those are things that, you know, he'll cry when his shift in the library is done
00:06:16.400 because he wants to keep working.
00:06:18.160 Wow.
00:06:18.460 Yeah.
00:06:18.660 Wow.
00:06:19.160 So tell us then where we're at, this autism partnership idea, you know, sort of,
00:06:25.360 I know it came to the floor of the House of Commons.
00:06:27.600 So tell, set up that story about why it was important that it do so and what happened then.
00:06:32.440 For sure.
00:06:33.040 Well, it didn't get funded in the budget, first of all.
00:06:35.460 So that was the first thing that happened.
00:06:37.340 And it was interesting because I think that we took for granted
00:06:40.180 that this was such a no-brainer that it would have all parties support
00:06:43.460 and would be something that the government would find room for.
00:06:46.300 It was only $3.8 million in a budget that's something like $25 or $26 billion in deficit.
00:06:52.740 So it seemed like a no-brainer.
00:06:54.160 So there's some surprise in the autism community and I think, you know,
00:06:57.640 in the opposition parties that it didn't wind up in the budget.
00:07:01.140 So we moved an opposition day motion.
00:07:03.040 Now, oftentimes those opposition day motions are really centered around the political issues of the day.
00:07:07.900 So this is a motion that you moved on behalf of the Conservative caucus.
00:07:11.460 That's what an opposition day motion is.
00:07:12.120 Exactly.
00:07:12.440 Right, right.
00:07:13.220 So we get to choose a certain number of days, a small number of days,
00:07:16.180 that we get to choose the subject that gets discussed and then voted on in the House of Commons.
00:07:20.360 And so we were very intentional about making this motion non-political.
00:07:24.360 We didn't criticize the government in any way.
00:07:26.960 All we did was say, here's what autism is and lay out some facts about autism.
00:07:31.180 And here's what the Canadian Autism Partnership is.
00:07:33.720 Do you support it or not?
00:07:34.940 Of course, motions are non-binding, but once a parliament decides that it's a good idea,
00:07:40.640 that's a huge step to moving forward.
00:07:43.060 And we debated it on May 18th.
00:07:45.800 We voted on it on May 30th.
00:07:47.940 And I had done a lot of work talking to Liberal members of parliament to get them on side.
00:07:53.040 And many, many, many of them had expressed that they were on side with it in favor of it.
00:07:58.640 In the end, I think that for whatever reason, the Liberals whipped their vote.
00:08:03.500 And only one Liberal member of parliament voted in favor of it.
00:08:07.060 Every other one voted against it.
00:08:08.900 Every Conservative, New Democrat, Elizabeth May from the Green Party,
00:08:12.420 all of the national parties unanimously supported it.
00:08:14.800 It was a pretty shocking moment in the House of Commons, I've got to say.
00:08:17.900 It was.
00:08:18.520 When all of a sudden, these people who had gone to the photo ops,
00:08:22.720 who had put their signature on to support this autism partnership,
00:08:28.520 then turned around and voted against it.
00:08:29.720 Well, the month earlier is April's World Autism Awareness Month.
00:08:33.440 And World Autism Awareness Day is at the beginning of April.
00:08:35.700 And there's always an Autism on the Hill event.
00:08:38.220 And we had over a dozen Liberal MPs show up for the photo op.
00:08:41.840 A few of them stayed for some speeches.
00:08:43.960 And then every single one of them voted against the Canadian Autism Partnership,
00:08:47.280 which is supported by the vast, vast, vast majority of Canada's autism community.
00:08:52.100 And of course, many, many other people.
00:08:53.500 So tell us a little bit.
00:08:54.900 I know there's been an incredible reaction to that from across the country.
00:08:58.980 So tell us a little bit about the reaction to that vote.
00:09:01.760 And then tell our listeners how they can become involved themselves in the wake of that vote.
00:09:07.840 Yeah, well, you know, we've been consistently posting on social media.
00:09:12.200 My handle on Facebook and Twitter is MikeLakeMP Instagram as well.
00:09:17.980 But, you know, posted the photo, for example, of the MPs all standing there with the banner on World Autism Awareness Day.
00:09:25.260 And I think we're up to 1,600 shares right now on Twitter, almost 600 retweets of that.
00:09:31.800 And if you read the comments, so many Canadians who are frustrated by the position,
00:09:36.580 but also really encouraging in terms of continuing the battle here.
00:09:40.320 So what we're encouraging people to do is to take to social media, particularly social media.
00:09:45.240 Twitter is a great place because, you know, most MPs check their Twitter accounts.
00:09:48.960 And so tweet at your member of parliament, your closest liberal members of parliament in your region,
00:09:53.560 and let them know how you feel about this.
00:09:56.020 Make sure that you email them and call them as well.
00:09:58.640 And we live in a democracy, Tony.
00:10:00.980 And if people speak up, I think that governments can change their minds.
00:10:05.440 Well, let's hope that they do.
00:10:06.560 So, Mike Lake, thank you for doing all that you're doing on this very important file.
00:10:10.700 It shows the compassion that you have as an individual and something that we as Conservative MPs share with you.
00:10:15.840 So thank you for doing it.
00:10:16.820 And let's hope that we can make some progress on this issue in the very near future.
00:10:20.600 That's great to have the conversation.
00:10:21.720 Thanks, Tony.
00:10:22.120 Thank you.
00:10:22.480 Thank you for listening to The Blueprint, Canada's Conservative Podcast.
00:10:35.500 To find more episodes, interviews, and in-depth discussions of politics in Canada,
00:10:39.760 search for The Blueprint on iTunes or visit podcast.conservative.ca.
00:10:44.120 Thank you.
00:10:45.120 Thank you.
00:10:46.120 Thank you.
00:10:47.120 Thank you.
00:10:52.480 Thank you.