Ontario mother camps outside premier's constituency office for 6th day to get help for son with autism
For the last six days, Stacy Kennedy has been sleeping in her van outside the Etobicoke office of Premier Doug Ford in an attempt to get help for her son with autism.
"I don't want to do this" Kennedy told CTV News Toronto. "I have no choice. I need to do this."
The Oakville resident is a mother on a mission. She wants someone from the province to help her find the proper supports for her son with autism.
"He's amazing. He's awesome," said Kennedy of her 10-year-old son Sam. "His great loves are Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck right now. He's a neurodiverse kid."
Sam is also a patient at SickKids, with a severe oral aversion and feeding disorder, meaning he cannot eat solid foods. He requires an oral surgery, which will require therapies, something Kennedy has been told she will need to wait for provincial funding to cover.
"This is not a life or death surgery. My son is a classic clinic patient compared to many other families who are in dire life or death situations. However, if my son was neurotypical, he would be having surgery outside of the scope of the pandemic delays. And that is unacceptable"
Frustrated, Kennedy says she's taken her fight to the doorstep of the premier, setting up a chair and sleeping in her red minivan outside the Albion Road constituency office of Doug Ford.
"I put it to paper last week, I mean, a spreadsheet of everywhere I've asked for help. That spreadsheet is eight pages long, single spaced, and includes dozens and dozens of organizations in southern Ontario. I cold call people. I am told no, that's not my job. No, that's not available."
Stacy Kennedy's 10-year-old son Sam is seen in this undated photograph provided to CTV News Toronto.
Kennedy says she wants to see action--starting with something as simple as a phone call.
"I would like someone from this government to call me, my MPP, who's a Progressive Conservative, has my number. The parliamentary assistants have my number. The constituency office has my number. The ministry has my number."
Kennedy says during the past six days, she's received plenty of support from other parents of children with autism, some who've driven hours to bring food or sit with her. She hopes her protest will raise awareness of the situation she and other parents in the province are experiencing.
"I'm here because I've hit every roadblock over four and a half years as.. tens of thousands of families have over the years. But I'm literally at a dead end."
CTV News has reached out to the office of the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services for comment, but so far have not received a response.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
Investigators have finally revealed the identity of an unknown victim nicknamed 'Midtown Jane Doe,' who was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City two decades ago.