Members of a new advisory panel on Ontario’s autism program will be able to publicly share their opinions about policies being put in place, the minister in charge said Friday. But he stopped short of waiving confidentiality agreements that some advocates feared would muzzle committee members and shroud the decision-making process in secrecy.

The assurance from Children and Youth Services Minister Michael Coteau came in an open letter to the Ontario Autism Coalition one week after the group urged Coteau to get rid of the agreements, so that policy decisions about children can be transparent and openly discussed.

While Coteau’s letter to the coalition did not respond specifically to that demand, “the non-disclosure agreement does not mean a member of the committee cannot express their opinion on autism services in Ontario,” Coteau wrote.

At the end of each advisory meeting, the 15-member committee of parents, educators and experts will prepare a summary of what was discussed, Coteau added. That included the most recent meeting Sept. 13.

“We welcome members of the committee sharing these summaries widely,” he said the in the letter.

Coalition president and advisory panel member Bruce McIntosh called the letter “progress” though he noted “it’s pretty clear there’s not going to be any movement on (removing) the non-disclosure agreement.”

“I guess that’s an improvement, without lifting it entirely,” he said. “Mission accomplished.”

The coalition asked Coteau to waive the agreements in the wake of a Star story this month which revealed that an earlier advisory panel — a committee of clinical experts on autism set up in 2012 — stayed publicly silent about its own serious concerns when the controversial children’s autism program was launched last March.

The revamped program sparked a huge backlash because it included an age cutoff that meant children 5 years old and older no longer qualified for publicly funded intensive treatment.

At the time, the clinical expert committee highlighted its concerns in a three-page letter to the minister, obtained by the Star under freedom of information legislation. But members, bound by confidentiality agreements, did not speak openly about their worries.

Coteau amended the program, which will be fully launched next year, and provided direct funding to children affected by the age cutoff after he was moved into the ministry in a June cabinet shuffle.

In order to join the new advisory panel launched this summer that will oversee implementation of the new children’s autism program, members like McIntosh had to sign agreements that prohibit them from “directly or indirectly” engaging in public commentary on the panel’s undertakings without “explicit written consent” from the ministry. The agreements also stipulate that “any requests for public comment should be deferred to the ministry.”

While the ministry did not respond to questions Friday about how to interpret those clauses, McIntosh said the spirit of Coteau’s letter gives him reason to hope the process will be more transparent than he had feared.

“I think we understand that people on the committee are free to express their opinions to the media, and I intend to do that,” said McIntosh, a Thornhill father of two teens on the autism spectrum.

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Advisory committee member Gail Geller said she has “complete faith” in Coteau’s commitment to children with autism and is “proud to be part of this.”

“I’m confident that members of this committee will have their needs met. I don’t think anybody’s integrity will be compromised,” she said.