Letter to the Editor and Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley from Gabriel Riviere-Reid – Project Truth Victims Therapy Funding Cut – Cornwall Ontario – January 7, 2010

Attorney General Chris Bentley has said that the survivors of historical sexual abuse currently receiving funded counselling from the Inquiry would not be abandoned.

However, he has decided to completely cut the funding, which was to continue for 90 days after Commissioner Normand Glaude issued his report, in order to give the government time to look over his recommendations. Instead, before even hearing Commissioner Glaude’s report, Bentley announced that the funding will end on January 15th, 2010.

Until July of this year, crisis intervention and referral will be available through Family Counselling. However, clients will have to be assessed and approved for this new service, when all they want is to continue the journey of healing with the psychotherapists they have, with whom they have established a relationship of trust.

Commissioner Glaude disagrees with the government’s proposal, and is strongly urging them to reconsider their decision.

And so the survivors, who have worked very hard to make a better life for themselves, are being left high and dry. Their hope that they will be able to heal and finally fulfill their aspirations is once again being taken away.  Mr Bentley and the McGuinty government are playing with people’s lives, and it’s the re-victimized children of the past who are losing.

And so I plead with Mr Bentley to change his mind, and let them continue their counselling.

Gabriel Riviere-Reid
Cornwall, Ontario

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3 Comments

  1. This is just another example of the Fiberals walking all over the public they are supposed to represent. True, we are in Cornwall and far from Queens Park so they think we don’t matter! They are trying to save money in order to present a more viable face to their election platform. At election time we just have to remember who did what and vote accordingly!

  2. The “Con”servatives will do no better either. We already know that Hudak is full of hot air and cannot even begin to meet what he says he will do. Its all just smoke and mirrors! For example, fight the HST? How? there’s nothing he can do about it. And he knows this from the beginning too. He is just riding the coat-tails to power and then once he has it, who knows what else will happen to destabilize Ontario. Considering the Federal “Con”servatives are all for the HST, good luck in getting rid of it.

    Unless someone else runs for Liberal leadership that isn’t McGuinty, they won’t get my vote. But the “Con”servatives, will not get my vote either.

    Considering I still haven’t received even 1 response to any of my letters to Hudak’s office! Why would I vote for someone that doesn’t even have the care or time to even try to respond to one of my emails to them? That says a lot to me. At least McGuinty answers, regardless of how big a nose he has!

  3. And, don’t forget how your “Con”servative MP, about to cash in on his golden handshake after actually doing what?, voted yes to allow the HST to even be implemented in the first place. Along with the “Bloc-heads”. Now that really gets my goad going!

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