Autism Strategy Act moves forward

Tyndall Park

On March 19, the legislative assembly held a recorded vote to determine if my private member’s bill, Bill 232 – The Autism Strategy Act, should pass second reading. I am happy to report that, after quite a bit of back and forth with the government, all MLAs supported seeing it through to committee.

The bill itself is a long-term, co-ordinated strategy to provide ongoing support and services, including timely access to screening and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder; supports and services for autistic children and early learning and child-care facilities, as well as at all levels of their education; supports and services for autistic adults, including those related to employment and housing; supports and services for families and caregivers of autistic people; research on ASD; and comprehensive data collection and statistical analysis respecting autistic people.

After the bill’s second reading, on March 17, a few government members voted against moving the Autism Strategy Act onto the committee phase. Fortunately, I had the support of enough members to call for a recorded vote.

It was incredible to witness how, over 48 hours, a community petition garnered over 2,000 signatures and MLAs of all stripes shared that they had heard from their constituents about the bill. Hundreds of posts in support of the legislation were shared on social media.

I believe that credit should be given to the community members, stakeholders, and families who rallied together. Their combined actions raised awareness and emphasized the need for the bill and the services it will improve.

This is where mobilization and lobbying truly pays off in politics. Because of these efforts, when it came down to the recorded vote, all MLAs supported the bill. I am incredibly grateful for everyone who played a role. Thank you for all your efforts and for entrusting me with such important work.

With that said, we still have a lot of work ahead of us.

As I write this, a committee date has not been set, and it is important to explain that the government does not necessarily have to send the bill to committee. Typically, if there is enough public interest (which we know there is for the Autism Strategy Act) it will be called sometime between now and November 2026.

It’s therefore very important to register to speak before the committee ahead of time. You can present in person, virtually or with a written statement. When people sign up to present, it sends the message that this is an important issue that people feel strongly about.

To register, visit the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba website – gov.mb.ca/legislature. Under the committees tab, fill out the committee presenter registration form. Please select Bill 232 – The Autism Strategy Act from the dropdown.

Feel free to email cindy@gocindy.ca if you would like the link emailed to you.

Once you have signed up, you will be automatically notified when a date is set.

In the meantime, please stay connected as our efforts have already impacted the government’s direction in voting and has put pressure on them to invest.

I would also like to invite you all out to the 2026 Autism Walk on Thursday, April 2 at 6 p.m. at the Manitoba legislative building. It is a public walk, open to everyone, to support acceptance and inclusion for the autism community.