Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, as it is Autism Awareness Month, I would be remiss if I did not ask about your government’s progress concerning its legal obligations under Bill S-203, which received Royal Assent earlier this year. This legislation was non‑prescriptive to ensure that the government and stakeholders — including autistic Canadians themselves — were the ultimate authority on what the framework should look like. To that end, the legislation requires the ministry to convene a meeting with stakeholders and provincial counterparts within a year. Of course, that’s in the law. It’s an important part of the legislation because it ensures that autistic Canadians are not left out of drafting the framework.

Senator Gold, can you please tell us where the government — specifically the Ministry of Health — is on this issue? When will it be convening the conference? It is, of course, of interest to everyone in this chamber.

Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, while we may have drawn the curtain on the month of autism awareness — or as it is now becoming known, Autism Acceptance Month — the challenges for autistic Canadians and the work to meet those challenges continue throughout the year.

I mentioned the change from awareness to acceptance in the designation of the month of April, and that’s a very importance distinction, as we learned during our study on Bill S-203.

While the word “autism” has become almost commonplace in our vernacular, the understanding of what it means to be autistic and what autistic people are capable of — and capable of contributing to the world around them — remains a challenge. That’s where organizations like Autism Speaks Canada, or ASC, and so many others come in.

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending a morning with Autism Speaks Canada in Toronto, an event highlighting some of the good work being done by ASC and its partners.

One of their guiding principles is enhancing lives today and accelerating solutions for tomorrow. One of the main objectives of that work is building an inclusive Canada where autistic people can reach their full potential.

Autism Speaks Canada is committed to listening and learning from the autistic community and is proud to hold the highest share of voice among autism organizations and is ranked as the most well-liked brand in the non-profit space in Canada.

I wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate them on that and to thank them for all they do.

I especially want to thank Executive Director Jill Farber for her relentless efforts and unwavering dedication to autistic Canadians and their families.

I also want to thank Neil Forester and his business partner Xavier Pinto, who head up a jobs fair called Spectrum Works. Neil first approached me last year after he saw a news story about Bill S-203. He reached out to my office to tell me about this incredible project in which they match autistic Canadians with employers.

This job fair started as a small in-person event, but due to the pandemic, of course, they were forced online. Now they’re looking at returning to in-person events as well as online and to grow it to a much larger scale.

It’s an incredible and vital initiative but it can’t always be up to organizations like Autism Speaks Canada or individuals like Neil and Xavier to spearhead these efforts. They need commitments from government, corporate Canada and people of all walks of life.

Finally, I want to recognize the two most special people I had the pleasure of meeting on Sunday: Arjun Goenka, the National Team Up Ambassador, and a young man who spoke about his love for running; and a little girl named Faith Abraham, the Toronto Walk Ambassador, who stole everyone’s heart at this particular event.

It’s these individuals who inspire me to keep advocating for an inclusive Canada where all parts are united in one voice and one team in building up this great country. Thank you, colleagues.