The Ontario government funding changes for children with autism are being me with anger. Now people are calling for Minister of Children and Family Services Lisa MacLeod to resign after she threatened to punish a group if they did not back her government’s plan.

Ford says he fully supports Lisa MacLeod. Here are five reasons why he’s wrong and Lisa MacLeod should be fired.

1. She Threatened Retaliation if Behavioural Analysists Refused to Her Government’s Policy

MacLeod and her staff told The Ontario Association for Behaviour Analysis that if they did not publicly support the government’s autism funding changes, it would be “four long years” for the organization.

She also said that if a positive quote about the changes was not forthcoming, her office would release a statement saying the group was “self-interested”.

2. She Shared a Tweet That Questionned The Legitimacy of Protesting Parents

Toronto Sun columnist Joe Warmington tweeted (then subsequently deleted) a tweet questioning whether protestors at Lisa MacLeod’s office were actually real parents.

Here is a video of the exchange outside her office that Warmington referred to:

Watch: Minister Lisa MacLeod faces furious parents in Ottawa, in a bid explain the Ford government's rationale behind autism funding plan. #ONPoli pic.twitter.com/i1FLpGeRw2 — Colin D'Mello CTVNews (@ColinDMello) February 8, 2019

Lisa MacLeod retweeted a subsequent tweet from Joe that questioned the make-up of the crowd.

Here it is. Nepean MPP @MacLeodLisa and Minister of children, disabilities, and social services liking & retweeting Toronto Sun columnist questioning the authenticity of Ontarian parents with autistic children protesting the program changes. This is disgraceful. #ONPoli pic.twitter.com/0HuOsM2jGG — Tyler Watt ?? (@tylerwhat16) February 9, 2019

3. She Attended a Photoshoot While Her Office Claimed She Was “Unavailable” for C omment

The Minister’s Office claimed MacLeod was unavailable to comment about the accusations that she threatened The Ontario Association for Behaviour Analysis because her schedule was full.

I requested an interview with Minister MacLeod today to address the accusations of intimidation and threats against ONTABA.



"Unfortunately the Minister has a full schedule today and is unavailable."#onpoli https://t.co/AlGBuvpoK3 — Colin D'Mello CTVNews (@ColinDMello) February 14, 2019

MacLeod responded that she in fact was available but the media did not take up her offer:

CTV Ottawa was just at the event I spoke at. I offered to scrum all media but the Ottawa Citizen was the only media outlet to take us up on it. @CaitlinPClark https://t.co/leOcB82PnN — Lisa MacLeod (@MacLeodLisa) February 14, 2019

Unfortunately for MacLeod, it appears her office never informed CTV. Her office had told CTV that MacLeod was busy all day.

Minister, we were not made aware of a scrum availability. We also reached out to your office today for an interview, but were told you had a full schedule and were unavailable. We are more than happy to speak with you. https://t.co/ow2hJf8cot — CTV Ottawa (@ctvottawa) February 14, 2019

4. She Did Not Apologize for Her Threats

While MacLeod apologized for making anyone feel threatened, she did not apologize for making the threatening comments.

It’s been an emotional time.



Throughout this process my focus has always been on the 23,000 children who were abandoned under the previous government’s plan. This is an issue I take very personally and I apologize if my comments made anyone feel threatened or uncomfortable. — Lisa MacLeod (@MacLeodLisa) February 14, 2019

5. Her Changes Hurt Children With Autism

Beyond the hurtful and threatening comments from MacLeod, the policy she is proposing will hurt children with autism, forcing parents pay tens of thousands of dollars more for treatment.

As this article explains, the policy makes every child worse-off by splitting up funding:

The problem is that now zero kids, besides from very wealthy families, will be able to afford and receive effective treatment. They clearly do not understand that if anything we need more equity, not more equality. Research has shown that effective treatment is around 30 hours a week of intensive therapy, which costs $60k-90k a year, this new plan give families at most $140k total spread out over the ages of 2 to 18. Now instead of some kids getting effective treatment, while others are on a waitlist, this new plan will give virtually no kids effective treatment but all will receive a small amount of funding.

Add your name if you oppose Ford and agree Lisa MacLeod should be fired