Elisabeth Prass

More than 5,300 sign disabilities petition sponsored by Prass

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By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

D’Arcy McGee MNA Elisabeth Prass, the Official Opposition Critic for Social Services and for People Living with Disabilities or on the Autism Spectrum, recently sponsored a National Assembly petition to “ask the CAQ government to guarantee the accessibility of alternative living environments for people with autism or intellectual disabilities.”

The 5,372-signature petition, whose signing period is over, can be seen at www.assnat.qc.ca/en/exprimez-votre-opinion/petition/Petition-11151/index.html. The petition points out that individuals with intellectual disabilities or autism “face significant barriers to accessing safe, healthy, and stimulating alternative living environments, such as supervised apartments, intermediate resources, and family-type resources.”

The petition adds that while every individual has the right to live in an environment that guarantees them a high quality of life,” there have been “frequent reports of abuse within alternative living environments;

“Quebec must uphold the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The lack of residential options often leads to a mismatch between the available living environment and the life plan of these individuals. There are non-profit models of alternative living environments that better meet the needs of these individuals, developed by and for the intellectual disability and autism community.”

The Quebec government is being asked to “strengthen staff training and oversight of alternative living environments to ensure adequate living conditions; and ensure that intermediate and family-type resources are tailored to the evolving needs of individuals, fostering the preservation and development of their abilities.”

The provincial government is also being asked to “give priority to non-profit alternative living environments in the creation of new spaces and actively support their development across all regions; and enhance and secure stable funding for non-profit alternative living environments.”

Prass also recently denounced the CAQ’s “unjustified cuts to major assistance programs for people living with disabilities.” She held a press conference Feb. 19 at the National Assembly with representatives of the Regroupement des activistes pour l’inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ), where they said the cuts are “a historic step backwards in terms of accessibility and social participation for people with disabilities.

Prass also told the press conference that in recent months, “especially with the arrival of Santé Québec, the cuts continue and it is always at the cost of the most vulnerable people.

“Whether it is the suspension of the home adaptation program, the cuts in the employment service cheque program, the cuts in the government contribution to work integration contracts, the possible pricing of services for home support, all these programs were created precisely to give a certain autonomy to people living with disabilities or with an autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability and to allow them to live with a certain dignity, to stay in their home as long as possible, because what this government does not consider is that it costs less to offer home services to a person rather than to integrate them into a CHSLD or other institution for which there are waiting lists of thousands of people.”

Prass also pointed out that that with an budget upcoming and an $11 billion provincial deficit, “we are all afraid that these cuts will just get worse.”

Steven Laperrière, director general of the Regroupement des activistes pour l’inclusion au Québec, said that “inclusion cannot be an empty slogan.

“The government and Santé Québec must stop cutting and act now to guarantee everyone full participation in society, autonomy and the dignity to which every individual is entitled.” n

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Montrealers commemorate 80 years since Auschwitz liberation

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By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

The Gelber Centre was packed Monday night for the Montreal Holocaust Museum’s commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp where more than a million Jews were slaughtered.

On hand were the Consul-General of Germany, the Deputy Consul of Italy, federal Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland; former federal Liberal Pablo Rodriguez, who plans to seek the Quebec Liberal leadership; Liberal MPs Anthony Housefather, Anna Gainey, Alexandra Mendès and Rachel Bendayan; and D’Arcy McGee MNA Elisabeth Prass. UFC star Georges St-Pierre was on hand earlier in the evening.

MHM president Jacques Saada thanked the large audience for attending, saying “it means so much — today, especially, as we are going through a revival of antisemitism around the world.”

Rodriguez asked the community to work together “for a future in which such atrocities like the Holocaust never, never happen again. Let us commit ourselves to transmitting this memory to future generations so that history does not repeat itself and human dignity is preserved for all.”

The main event at the commemoration was an interview of Holocaust survivor George Reinitz by longtime CBC journalist Peter Mansbridge. Born in Hungary and now in his 93rd year, Reinitz came to Canada in 1948, and became a world class wrestler and a successful businessman with Jaymar Furniture, founded by Reinitz in 1956.

Reinitz, who was deported to Auschwitz at the age of 12 in 1944 and was the only member of his immediate family to survive, told the harrowing story of his daily battles to find food to eat — this included risking his life to leave his barracks at night to find discarded potato skins, which he shared with others. One time, he was caught, but an intoxicated guard let him live.

Asked by Manbridge if he was worried that history could repeat itself, especially with the current level of antisemitism, Reinitz said that education is the way to counter this.

“There are always going to be people who want to kill you, whether it’s because you’re a Jew or a Christian” he said. “We came a long way from those days when I was a kid. Antisemitism is going to be here forever. We’re lucky we have an Israel where we can go and fight and try to survive.”

Mansbridge told Reinitz that one way to counter antisemitism is to “make sure people like you tell their story.

“Without you reminding us of what happened, people will forget….The answers are education and leaving behind a record, which you’ve done many times.”

Reinitz later received a surprise, a wrestling sweater from longtime Concordia wrestling coach Victor Zilberman and a letter of tribute from Wrestling Canada read by Zilberman’s son David, a Canadian Olympic freestyle wrestler. n

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West End’s Mosaik Centre saluted by MNA

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By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

D’Arcy-McGee MNA Elisabeth Prass visited the Mosaik Family Resource Centre last week, as have thousands of families before her over the last 20 years, but she came toting along some high praise and official recognition from Quebec’s National Assembly for their tireless efforts to improve the lives of vulnerable families in Montreal’s west end.

Prass said she was “more than proud” to present a certificate of recognition from the National Assembly to co-directors Teresa Kaeser and Krystine Dobbs and their team, “for everything that you’ve done, everything that you’ll continue to do.” Noting the Centre on Côte Saint-Luc Road has been a crucial resource for families in NDG, Montreal West, Côte Saint-Luc, Hampstead and Snowdon since 2004, Prass says, “your team and all the volunteers who help every day and again, make countless differences in the lives of individuals.”

Mosaik assists local families with everything from early literacy programs and parenting workshops and lectures and services for fathers, to respite programs, emergency food pantry, clothing giveaways, toy lending service and hygiene products.

Organizations like Maison Mosaik fill crucial gaps in Quebec’s social safety net, Prass told The Suburban, and it’s problematic that they and their fellow community organizations don’t get enough state support. The main funding for community organizations comes from the Quebec government’s Programme de soutien aux organismes communautaires (PSOC), which is not significantly indexed from year to year. “So the money that they’re receiving doesn’t have the same value that it used to.” That means organizations like Mosaik see clientele increasing while funding remains more or less stagnant and buying power diminishes.

Last month, Mosaik held its annual Garage Sale Fundraiser to support their Emergency Food Pantry truck rental, which helps them feed hungry families in the west end. Its budget is up some 800 percent since its founding, last year serving almost 900 families. Since the pandemic, their outreach increased massively, as did the need, particularly with their emergency food pantry once they became certified with Moisson Montreal.

Prass says she’d like to propose in the next year that PSOC looks at “how many people the organization is serving from one year to the next, and that there will be a bonus if you were to increase based on the clientele… Inflation, clientele numbers… It’s a big program to reform and it would be province-wide, and there’s so many organizations receiving it, but I think that there needs to be certain aspects that are taken into consideration that aren’t taken right now.” She says regional orgs are particularly affected. “Organizations covering a large area like Gaspésie need three offices rather than one because of geography, and they’ll get the same amount of money as an organization in Montreal — which can go visit their clientele, or the clientele comes to them.” Transport, distance, and client mobility issues all make it harder in the regions and thus more expensive.

These resources not only fill gaps, but often have dual impact: “Someone looking for a child on the autism spectrum, will for example, be sent by the CLSC to a local organization like Friendship Circle. Well, they just took that person off their waiting list, so the government relies heavily on these community organizations to be able to accomplish their mandate as well.” These groups are such essential government partners in its social service network, says Prass, that “they should be treated as such.” n

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D’Arcy McGee MNA tables petition to improve mental health services

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By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

For the vast majority of people living on the autism spectrum or with severe mental disorders, social assistance is their only source of income, says Official Opposition critic for persons living with a disability or with autism spectrum disorder, Elisabeth Prass.

The Liberal MNA for D’Arcy-McGee tabled a petition to the National Assembly with 5,264 signatures requesting that autism diagnoses and certain severe mental health disorders be reintegrated into the list of evident diagnoses eligible for Quebec’s Social Solidarity program. Accompanied by her colleague, Désirée McGraw, critic for social solidarity and community action, and representatives from a number of organizations at a press conference, they called for individuals with severe mental health disorders and autism to be re-eligible for the program, noting these individuals account for 43.1% of social solidarity beneficiaries, with nearly 90% of them unemployed.

Finally, the petition proposes that the CAQ government change its approach to evaluating employment constraints from a biomedical paradigm to a psychological model to better understand impacted individuals’ realities and respond to their needs. “For the vast majority of people living on the autism spectrum or with severe mental disorders, social assistance is their only source of income, being for the most part unemployed. With the decision to exclude these diagnoses, the CAQ government is making life more difficult for vulnerable people,” said Prass. “We can’t abandon this category of people to their fate on the basis of biomedical assessment alone, but rather opt for a psychosocial assessment approach. That would be much more logical.”

In 2022, Quebec City revised criteria for expedited access to Social Solidarity for adults, resulting in the removal of over 50 diagnoses. This included conditions such as autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, complete blindness, and other permanent and irreversible conditions. The CAQ is significantly complicating the lives of individuals facing serious mental health disorders or other debilitating conditions, said McGraw. “Are these changes a strategic move by the CAQ to unjustly bar them from the Social Solidarity Program?”

The Fédération Québécoise de l’Autisme calls on Minister Chantal Rouleau to reconsider her decision, said executive director Lili Plourde, “and to provide proper support for adults facing substantial barriers to employment inclusion, aiming to assist them in breaking free from poverty.” n

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Public urged to sign Cavendish-Hippodrome petition

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By: Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

Members of Côte St. Luc council and traffic expert Rick Leckner urged the public to sign — in the thousands — a National Assembly petition asking that “before there is any further government funding to develop the Hippodrome site, that the City of Montreal respect the schedule they set out in 2022 for the Cavendish [extension] project and put it back in their Capital works budget.”

The petition, sponsored by D’Arcy McGee MNA Elisabeth Prass, is on the National Assembly website this week, accessible via the link www.assnat.qc.ca/en/exprimez-votre-opinion/petition/Petition-10931/index.html. The deadline to sign the petition is October 12.

Prass recently told The Suburban that “we’re concerned the City of Montreal is not upholding the 2017 agreement it signed when the government of Quebec handed over Blue Bonnets to Montreal— the agreement stipulates the extension has to be done to develop Blue Bonnets, and we see Montreal is bypassing that.”

A message to residents of Montreal, obtained by The Suburban, says the government of Quebec should “take its responsibilities seriously and ensure that Montreal put Cavendish back on track.

“That agreement [with Quebec] is clear. The Quebec government gave the City of Montreal a property worth more than $50 million on condition that the City of Montreal proceed with the Cavendish extension project.”

“It’s time we did something,” Leckner told the August 12 CSL council meeting. “What’s been going on with the City of Montreal is shameful….It’s time for the public to get involved. We need thousands and thousands of signatures to demand no further government funding be allocated to the Hippodrome project until the City of Montreal puts Cavendish back on the Capital Works program. This affects all of us every day.”

Councillor Dida Berku also urged thousands to sign the petition. “Council will share that petition,” she added. “I think 60 days will be enough time to get support from the citizens.” n

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Prass tables bill expanding security for the vulnerable

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By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

D’Arcy McGee MNA Elisabeth Prass has tabled Bill 790, a proposed law to expand protections of seniors and people in vulnerable situations against abuse in facilities by enabling them to install cameras in their rooms.

Prass, who is the Official Opposition critic for People living with a disability or with Autism Spectrum Disorder, was joined at a National Assembly press conference by representatives of the Quebec Autism Federation and the Association des ressources intermédiaires d’hébergement du Québec, who are also calling for the proposed bill to be passed.

Prass told the press conference that the adoption of Bill 790 “would make it possible to extend the measures already provided for in the Act to combat mistreatment of seniors and any other adult in a vulnerable situation, which currently apply only in CHSLDs.

“Faced with cases of mistreatment of people with physical or intellectual disabilities, we wish to extend these protection measures to continued assistance residences (RAC).”

The MNA said that in the past year, “we have been made aware of several cases of abuse and neglect of residents living with disabilities.

“We were all devastated to learn the story of the nine-year-old autistic boy with an intellectual disability at the Laval Youth Centre, who was mistreated and whose parents were unable to access their child’s room. For the families of these vulnerable people, many of whom are non-verbal, they can have the choice of placing cameras in their rooms for security reasons.”

The MNA said her proposed bill is an important step in protecting the vulnerable.

“It’s a bill grounded in human dignity that fills a gap that can be easily closed with a little political will. It’s a simple solution to combat abuse in all its forms with all possible means. I hope that the CAQ government will recognize the urgent need to act and will be open to moving Bill 790 forward.”

Simon Telles, of the Association des ressources intermédiaires d’hébergement du Québec, thanked Prass for her initiative.

“I can testify to the application of the regulations already in force in intermediate accommodation resources since 2018, which works very well. The possibility of having cameras in residents’ rooms has been well received by residents, their families, residence owners and employees. This helps reinforce the feeling of security in our environments, and we welcome the fact that this possibility this could be extended more widely to other environments where there are vulnerable people.” n

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10th annual D’Arcy McGee medals awarded

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By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

The 10th annual D’Arcy McGee National Assembly Citizenship medals ceremony was held May 15 at Côte St. Luc’s Aquatic and Community Centre, hosted by MNA Elisabeth Prass.

The ceremony was initiated by Prass’s predecessor David Birnbaum, to recognize individuals and organizations who and that have had a positive impact on the area covered by the riding, which includes Côte St. Luc, Hampstead and CDN-NDG.

“While their selections represent different sectors of society, they all reflect the spirit of kindness, support and wanting to make a positive difference in the lives of others,” Prass told the gathering.

The recipients were:

• David Mahoney, for his work with underprivileged youth through sports programs in CDN. Prass pointed out that Mahoney, a retired longtime mathematics educator, has also been “significantly involved in sports and community volunteering for almost 45 years” and as President of the Board of Loisirs Sportifs Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce from 1996 to 2020. “His unwavering dedication, bold vision and commitment to the well-being of young people have enriched life in CDN-NDG and left an indelible mark on the hundreds of hearts of those he touched.”

• AMI-Quebec, “for its tireless work [since 1977] to bring relief to those who take on the responsibility of taking care of others with mental health issues. AMI Quebec has had an immeasurably positive impact on the lives of those people and their families, by helping them to cope with these difficulties by better understanding mental illness and their own situations.”

AMI-Quebec executive director Ella Amir said it is “gratifying for me to feel that we are doing something that makes a difference in the lives of people. Mental illness is always a challenge at the best of times….Without the foresight, commitment and creativity of the staff, we wouldn’t be standing here tonight.”

• Alan Maislin, for his “tireless work as President of the Board of Directors of CIUSSS West-Central Montreal from 2015 to 2024. Prass said “he has poured his heart and his vision of an improved health care system into his role. Throughout his nine-year tenure, he worked to ensure that those in need of medical care and social services in our community would have their needs met promptly, professionally and with a human touch. He encouraged innovation, embraced new forms of digital technology, and ensured that healthcare users and staff received the respect and recognition they were entitled to. “

Maislin said, “all these achievements through what I call this glorious ride, could never have happened without a lot of people in this room, many people truly dreamed it and made it happen.”

• MADA, now in its 30th year, for its efforts in decreasing hunger and poverty in Montreal. “Every time I show up to MADA to volunteer, I can’t help but be impressed by the organized system they have in place, how smoothly it’s all done and how happy everyone is to be there helping out,” Prass said. “That is truly an achievement for an organization that counts on volunteers and them wanting to come back over and over again.”

Longtime MADA volunteer Ethel Fruchter told the gathering that the organization and its volunteers are “angels from God.”

Rabbi Chaim Cohen, MADA’s executive director, praised Fruchter for the amount of potatoes she peels, and proclaimed, “together we can, and we will enlighten the world with love, kindness and that will [overcome] all the hate and antisemitism.” n

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Azrieli Clinic for the Neurodivergent launches in CSL

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By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

The Azrieli Clinic for the Neurodivergent Community, where medical and dental services are being provided for adults with intellectual disabilities and/or an autism spectrum disorder, was officially launched April 2 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and press conference in Côte St. Luc. The CIUSSS West-Central Montreal facility, located at the CLSC René Cassin at Quartier Cavendish, is the first of its type in Montreal, in terms of providing both medical and dental services for the specific clientele at the same site. The clinic opened this past December.

Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant thanked all those involved in the project, particularly the Azrieli Foundation.”By offering adapted medical and dental care to adults with an intellectual disability and/or an autism spectrum disorder, the Azrieli Clinic is significantly improving access to front-line services for this clientele,” he added.

Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, president and CEO of the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, said “certain patients have special needs that are not being met. As the clinic demonstrates, a need was identified and the means were found to ensure they will receive care of superior quality. The project is also aligned with our CIUSS’s philosophy of ‘care, everywhere.’”

Naomi Azrieli, CEO of the Azrieli Foundation, stated that “we are guided by the belief that every person deserves to live a full life to the best of their ability….The inauguration of this clinic is a dream come true.” The Foundation also announced it is funding a dental clinic at the Montreal General Hospital for the neurodivergent community.

Dr. Richard Reznick of the Azrieli Foundation, who was at the launch, said the clinic is the result of nine years of hard work by all the partners, including the Foundation, the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal and the Jewish General Hospital Foundation.”Medical and dental healthcare for neurodivergent individuals has remained an unmet need for too long,” he said. “What’s created here represents a better way to deliver healthcare to this population.”

The clinic is unique in that clients can be treated on an out-patient basis whereas they might otherwise be treated in hospital emergency departments or even admitted. As well, appointments are longer, from 45 minutes to an hour rather than what would ordinarily be 15 minutes.The clinic is open Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and services are covered by Medicare,

D’Arcy McGee MNA Elisabeth Prass, the Official Opposition Critic for Persons Living with a Disability or with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and who has a 10-year-old son on the autism spectrum, also attended the press conference and ceremony.

She told The Suburban that the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal is “doing a wonderful job at being innovative, and speaking to a population that, unfortunately, is often not taken care of in the right way. So to see projects like this come to life and possibly be recreated across the city and the province is a wonderful thing for the autism and intellectual disability community, especially, today [April 2], is World Autism Awareness Day. There couldn’t be a better time to demonstrate that we’re a society that takes care of our most vulnerable. It’s a wonderful thing for Montreal.”

Prass also wrote an opinion piece in Le Journal de Montréal for World Autism Awareness Day that the occasion is “an opportunity to celebrate the countless contributions of people with autism spectrum disorder to our families and communities, and to highlight the systemic barriers to inclusion that people with ASD face on a daily basis. As the mother of a young child with autism spectrum disorder I have a personal understanding of the challenges our children and we face as parents.” The MNA wrote that her family has had access to respite services on some days of the week, which “allows parents and caregivers to have precious time for themselves and to recharge their batteries. “In our case, to have access to government-subsidized respite services, we must first register on a waiting list to receive blocks of time from our CIUSSS, to then register on the waiting lists of services from organizations that offer respite. It’s long and dizzying.

Prass added that the Azrieli Clinic would be a win-win for parents and children. n

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D’Arcy McGee MNA warns housing for vulnerable is at risk

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By Joel Ceausu

The 24 Arches communities across Quebec offering secure, integrated, long-term accommodation for people with intellectual disabilities or on the autism spectrum are at risk, says D’Arcy McGee MNA Elisabeth Prass.

The Official Opposition Critic for Persons Living with a Disability or with Autism Spectrum Disorder tabled a motion in the National Assembly last week asking the Legault government to grant increased and adequate funding to ensure sustainability of the homes run by the Association des Arches du Québec.

Inadequate funding, for homes in eight regions including Montreal since the 1970s, where residents live in apartments, duplexes and are fully integrated into their communities, leaves some in danger of closing, she says, and would force family members to become primary caregivers to their relatives, although in some cases, those individuals are too old to do so or non-existent.

The closure of these long-term establishments would be catastrophic for many families, she says. A lot of the 135 residents are in their 60s and 70s, she told The Suburban, “And if the house is closed down, they will end up in a long-term care centre or hospital bed, so the government’s lack of funding means they will take precious space in the system that’s more appropriate for others.”

Her motion was presented in concert with the other opposition groups, but the CAQ denied consent to put it to a vote. “The negative response from the CAQ to our motion is deplorable,” said Prass, who questioned Minister of Social Services Lionel Carmant about the homes receiving CIUSSS/CISSS funding that varies throughout Quebec, and that the same organization receives up to three times more financing per resident in Ontario.

Prass referenced a January La Presse report noting the Maisons Vero & Louis established by Quebec celebrities Véronique Cloutier and Louis Morissette receive up to three times more funding than Les Arches, prompting the organization and advocates to wonder if they needed a celebrity endorsement to secure funding.

Carmant insisted housing vulnerable people is a government priority and said discussions with Les Arches are ongoing to see “how we can compensate them for housing needs and ensure that these individuals, and we do not want them to move, stay in a place where they are well housed.” He also said only one location is in danger of closure right now due to financing, and that he was in touch with that community.

He said the government currently provides $4 million in funding for Arches daily activities, and noted there are 800 supervised Maison Alternative spaces for this clientele. “But there’s a huge waiting list,” says Prass. “The lists are years long. Where do people go in the meantime? Hospitals are supposed to treat people, they’re not meant to be living institutions.”

The organization relies on fundraising to make up the shortfall. Carmant agreed there is significant funding variation depending on the project, but insisted the imbalance was created when the first Maison Véro & Louis was announced under the former government, “where the funding was much higher than what has been done historically,” and said he’s ordered a review to develop “interregional equity” in funding according to severity of clientele disability.

The Ministry knows the needs are significant, spokesperson Marie-Pierre Blier told The Suburban, recognizing the valuable support provided by organizations such as Les Arches, which she noted, however, is not eligible for funding from the Community Organizations Support Program (PSOC) for their housing component, as the program provides support for temporary or transitional housing, not the needs of targeted clientele who require long-term housing. She also noted management of PSOC funding is “regionalized” so criteria for eligibility and follow-up for regional PSOC are determined by local CISSS/CIUSSS. n

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