Letter to Minister Jablonski regarding cuts to agencies serving people with disabilities

Dear Honourable Mary Anne Jablonski:

Earlier today I attended an awareness raising rally, with hundreds of Calgarians, about the recent request for cuts from the persons with disabilities agencies.

If these cuts go through, I believe all Calgarians will be affected by increasing demand to access emergency medical services, public transportation, community policing, as well as impacting services like Access Calgary, FCSS and other city funded services.

I am very concerned that care for the most vulnerable populations in our city are already underfunded and now a further $3 million reduction will erode these critical services even deeper.

These are hard economic times for everyone, and particularly people with disabilities. I recognize the Government’s requirement to balance the budget, and implore you to reconsider this $3M reduction to PDD Agencies.

Is this not the time to utilize the Sustainability Fund within Heritage Trust Fund? This is the place the government could go to protect programs rather than cutting funds to our vulnerable population.

Yours truly,

ALDERMAN JOE CECI, MSW, RSW

joe.ceci@calgary.ca

cc: Honourable Ed Stelmach, Premier

Mayor David Bronconnier, City of Calgary