May 8, 2003





Honourable Tony Clement

Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

Hepburn Block

80 Grosvenor St., 10th Floor

Toronto, Ontario

M7A 2C4





Dear Minister Clement:



I am writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Federation of Community Mental Health and Addiction Programs to request that the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care make public the final reports of the various Mental Health Implementation Task Forces and inform the public of its intended response to the recommendations made by these Task Forces.



The Ministry has been in possession of the reports for four months and as far as the Federation is able to ascertain, no Task Forces have received any feedback on the content of their report. The Ministry is well aware of the costs incurred in the Task Force processes, but it needs to be underlined that a significant amount of work was contributed by the members of the Task Forces, through sub-committees and on the part of individuals who participated in various public forums.



While there may well be disagreement about specific recommendations, there clearly was a significant commitment on the part of all involved. It would be most unfortunate for that commitment not to be honoured by the Ministry. Of particular concern is the investment made by consumer/survivors and family members.



While professionals in the field may well be used to the frustration of participating in processes that do not proceed such as the recent Ministry initiative, Setting the Course: Ontario Substance Abuse Bureau 1999, this is not the case for consumer/survivors and family members. Their disillusionment is an unacceptable price to pay for the Ministry’s delay in releasing the reports and responding to them.



We are also concerned that the Community based Programs are currently planning for the next fiscal year and are basically at a disadvantage given the lack of communication from the Ministry of the priorities the Implementation Task Forces have identified. Our Member Organizations are now setting their Program goals, developing their strategic plans and committing their resources (fiscal and human) that may well need to be substantially altered. This remains to be determined however; the service impact could be significant. It is imperative that the Federation Members and the Provincial Stakeholders be informed in order to maintain the provision of quality services to those who have Seriously Mentally Illnesses and\or Addiction problems and their significant others.





We note that in the recent budget statement there is a mention of a Premiers Council. We hypothesize that this may well be a product of the Task Force process and congratulate the Ministry on this initiative. We are requesting that the Federation, given its role in bringing together a significant proportion of community mental health and addiction providers, be allowed to participate in such a Council.



We look forward to working together with the Ministry to ensure the service and support needs of this vulnerable citizenship are met and request a meeting to understand how the Ministry will proceed.





Respectfully,











David Kelly

Executive Director







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Premier Ernie Eves

Mary Kardos Burton

Gail Ure

Dennis Helm