(NEWS STORY FROM THE EDMONTON JOURNAL - 2:30 P.M.)
The easy thing to do is grab placards,megaphones and
wear T-shirts to express outrage. And no doubt those things are going to
surface today around the noonhour at the legislative grounds. A rally is
planned to protest the government’s cut banks for people with developmental
disabilities in Edmonton. I understand there’s fear and anger. I
understand why people with disabilities and their families are going to express
their emotions.
But is it time to take this to the next level? We’re
entering unchartered water on several levels: a growing population with the
number of people with disabilities increasing accordingly and a provincial
government with — for whatever reason — decreasing financial resources. Things
have to change. Absolutely.
And those changes are going to be across the board
from assessments of service, to how programs how will run, to staffing, to many
other things. On the other hand, people with disabilities have increasing needs
that need to be addressed. To move forward, perhaps, we have to respect one
another. We have to work with one another.
We have to have meaningful conversations. People with
disabilities have gained the attention of the provincial government in the past
few weeks. The government has heard, loud and clear, the unhappiness.
We need to move to the next stage of this.
We need both sides to talk; to come up with creative
caring ways to move forward.
From where I sit, today’s demonstration needs to be
as peaceful as possible and a willingness of to listen to each other and work
together. If not, I fear this story will only continue and frustrations,
anger and fear will only rise.
