Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
As parents continue to navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing frustration with the federal government for not living up to a promise made years ago on a national autism strategy.
The situation has now reached a point where some families are seeking solutions south of the border.
For one Saskatchewan family, the struggle to access support has taken years.
Sheri Radoux is the mother of three teenagers, two of which have autism. She says that her family used to live in the U.S. where they had better access to therapies and have decided to move back after what she described as a shameful and frustrating experience in Canada that’s left her family feeling hopeless.
"It’s so much more robust and structured," Radoux said of autism support in the U.S. "There’s checks and balances and accountability – all of that lacks in Canada."
Radoux said Massachusetts offers a wide range of autism therapies in school and added that some states have mandated health coverage that includes autism treatment.
While there are support programs and services in Canada, advocated believe the big difference is that the U.S. has federal oversight, which Canada still lacks.
The federal government committed in 2019 to developing a national autism strategy, but consultations have only just started.
Experts say it’s common for families to move and seek better health services when they feel like they aren’t getting the care they need.
"It is a really common story, and that’s a result of fragmented and inequitable service delivery," Deepa Singal, director of Scientific and Data Initiatives at the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance (CASDA), told CTV National News. "Moving to a province with better support could mean the difference of a nonverbal child saying, ‘mommy’ or ‘daddy’ one day."
CTV National News spoke with a Canadian family living in Buffalo, N.Y. Sarah Ruth said their 10-year-old son has been receiving nearly 30 hours a week of different therapies since he was two.
"Without those therapists coming into my house and showing me how to help him, he probably wouldn’t be potty trained," Ruth said, adding that she’ll never return to the country she once called home.
"My son is not welcome in Canada, they’ve made that painfully clear,” she said. “To come back would be a disservice to him because he would lose everything."
Ruth estimates that her son receives US$100,000 a year in support through the state of New York’s education system. In comparison, a child in a similar position would receive only $5,000 from the Ontario government.
Ruth said she hasn’t "paid a dime" for any of her son’s autism services.
Advocates believe there are supportive services in Canada -- they’re just scattered across the country and need more federal oversight.
“We are really failing to properly support autistic Canadians,” said Jill Farber, the executive director of Autism Speaks Canada. “Access to affordable programming needs to be equitable across Canada, no matter where you live, no matter what stage of life you’re at and no matter what language you speak.”
Advocates say that while services vary depending on the province, having a National Autism Strategy that works with the healthcare system would help align services across the country.
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
The wildfire that sparked Friday and caused evacuation orders for more than 3,000 people in Fort Nelson, B.C., and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has grown to nearly 1,700 hectares in size, according to a Saturday morning update from the BC Wildfire Service.
Hours before the final, Dutch contestant Joost Klein was dramatically booted out by organizers over a backstage incident. He had failed to perform at two dress rehearsals on Friday, and contest organizer the European Broadcasting Union said it was investigating an "incident."
From London, to Grand Bend, Collingwood and Guelph, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
A growing number of civilians and police officers are demanding the dismissal and arrest of Haiti's police chief as heavily armed gangs launched a new attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince, seizing control of yet another police station early Saturday.
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.