Howard Hampton, MPP Rainy River
Dryden Community Office
123A Queen Street
Dryden, ON, P8N 1A6

Honorable Mr. Hampton:

I am writing you on behalf of the Dryden & District Association for Community Living.  First off, I would like to thank you for attending the North One Regional Council Meeting in Dryden on October 21^st.  Your interest in helping achieve appropriate funding within the developmental services sector is much appreciated. 

As you by now are aware, our programs and services exist to support people with intellectual disabilities to live meaningful lives in our communities.  Currently our programs and services are in dire need of a significant increase in funding.  While the government recently invested $59 million in the Developmental Services sector, most of that funding is allocated for new services, not to providing the resources necessary to maintain and strengthen the services that already exist. 

Unfortunately, our workers are paid far less than workers in comparable service sectors in Ontario. A substantial increase in funding is needed to bring the wages of support workers in line with wages paid to workers in comparable services.  

As a case in point, a recently arbitrated settlement between Community Living Sioux Lookout and the Communications, Energy & Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) resulted in the Ministry of Labour imposing a wage increase of 2% and 20% over the next two years.  The Ministry of Labour imposed this rate as they recognized the obvious need and justification. This just goes to show the desperate nature of the situation. 

Provincially an average increase of .45 cents an hour is needed to ensure that the wages of community support workers simply keep pace with increases in cost of living over the past year. The new funding announced by the government on July 15 will add, on average, just .28 cents an hour to these workers paycheques.  In the current year, employees in most other government services, including those who already enjoy a far more equitable wage rate, have received funding increases significantly higher than those of workers who support people who have an intellectual disability (Recent Ontario Public Service Workers agreement provides 9.75% over 4 years; Recent LCBO workers agreement provides 12% over 4 years). 

The Dryden & District Association for Community Living would appreciate you presenting the attached petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to address the critical under-funding of staff salaries within the developmental services sector.  Again, your help in achieving appropriate funding within the developmental services sector is much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Michael Hull, B.A., M.A.
Executive Director
Dryden & District Association for Community Living