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Ontario will eliminate provincially funded workshops where people with intellectual disabilities do menial tasks for pennies a day, says a top official with Ontario's Ministry of Community and Social Services.
The decision is the strongest statement yet from the ministry following a Toronto Star series exposing the problem. Initially, the government announced there would be no new admissions to the workshops, typically located in industrial malls. Now the province plans to close them forever.
Barbara Simmons told the Toronto Star that change will unfold "one individual at a time," as workshops are gradually replaced by agencies that find jobs, volunteer work and other activities in the community. No one will be left without services, she promised.
"It's a new era for this fantastic population to realize their full potential," said Simmons, director of the ministry's community supports policy branch.