Speaker: The hon. Member from
Charlottetown-Kings Square.
Mr. R. Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to notify all members of the Legislature today, the disability support group was passing out some fact sheets today and I think all members of the Legislature should read those fact sheets.
There are 19,000 Islanders that are considered disabled. This government is only helping 1,000 of them. I want to make it clear from the very first. I believe in the Disability Support Program. When the government did remove the people with disabilities out of the Social Assistance Program and set up the Disability Support Program that was a good move because there was a stigma associated with that, and we supported that, and I supported that move out.
I support the people that work in this program because they do a tremendous job. I know the frustrations that they’re having in this program because of the lack of funding.
The minister indicated in his statement that there was an over-budget or an over expenditure of expenses in that year. I would claim that the minister under budgeted for the people that have disabilities. There wasn’t an over-expenditure, Mr. Minister, there was an under-budget, and I strongly believe in that and I call upon you to increase that budget.
Also, the minister has indicated that we are a small province and can’t afford much. They had no problem passing $14 million out to seven people six weeks before the last election to keep their mouths shut. They have no problem spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on golf tournaments, no problem on big trips to Europe, and definitely no problem in taking limos around Montreal.
When it comes to their own expenses, the sky’s no limit. But when it comes to disability we hear about limits.
So I commend the work of the disability support group, especially Stephen Pate and Michael LeClair for their efforts here in getting this message out.
But on a short note, I ask this government, I demand of this government, and its backbenchers, you ask your Cabinet colleagues, you ask your other colleagues: Please, please, get out of the human rights hearing. You are forcing these people that you’re taking to court at the human rights hearing, you’re forcing these families to talk about their needs and their problems. I attended hearings over at the Human Rights Commission where this government is denying people access to disability support payments.
Some of you members should have attended some of those meetings at that human rights hearing where you saw families suffering day in and day out, and only getting $4 from the Disability Support Program.
Mr. Premier, I call upon you to take your lawyers, tell them to back off here, cancel that case, and work with these people.
Don’t go through the court, don’t make them suffer for 10 years like you made the people that you fired in 1996, because these families need help now. I beg you to look at this and call your lawyers and call your big shots off of this case because it’s disgusting what I had to hear over there, how your government is treating these people.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
An Hon. Member: Hear, hear!
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