Organizations that offer services to people with developmental disabilities in the Capital region are refusing to comply with a government attempt to claw back funding.
Service providers like St. Albert’s Lo-Se-Ca Foundation and Transitions learned last week the province wants to claw back roughly two per cent of their operating budgets before the fiscal year ends March 31. However, 38 local organizations voted unanimously at a Tuesday meeting to ignore the request because they have signed contracts with the government that are binding until the end of March.
“We signed the original agreement in good faith so that’s what we would like the government to respect,” said Transitions executive director Paul Fujishige.
Transitions and Lo-Se-Ca stand to lose a respective $125,000 and $92,000 if the clawback goes through.
Organizations used to exist under provincial grant agreements, which were easily altered during the fiscal year, but this year was the first for new standardized contracts that were an attempt to create a more businesslike relationship between government and service providers, Fujishige said.
The contracts stipulate the number of hours and type of service that organizations will provide and how much funding the government will supply for these services.
“Now that it’s more of a business kind of relationship it has to be agreeable to both parties to make any changes,” he said.
The contracts require 90 days notice for unilateral changes and have a provision for mediation in case of dispute. There’s also a ministerial directive section that essentially allows the Seniors and Community Supports minister to force funding cuts if she chooses, Fujishige said.
Funding for the province’s Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program is funnelled through six regional boards that are being asked to find about $11 million in savings, which is two per cent of the annual PDD budget, said Dan Laville, spokesman for Alberta Seniors and Community Supports.
He refused to discuss whether or not Minister Mary Anne Jablonski would force the cuts if organizations don’t comply.
“We expect that the community boards will continue to work with the PDD agencies to meet these savings,” Laville said.
Marie Renaud of the Lo-Se-Ca Foundation acknowledged there’s a double standard in the stance taken by service organizations — they’re demanding the government adhere to their contracts while they’re refusing to obey changes that the minister is allowed to dictate based on those same contracts.
“That’s a good point,” Renaud said.
However, she noted the spirit of the agreement is for both sides to stick to the original deal and suggested it may be unwise for the minister to wield her full power.
“Once you go there it becomes pretty much a political issue,” Renaud said.
“I do hope that we get the premier’s attention.”
Both local organizations worry the retroactive budget cuts came suddenly even though the government knew for months it was facing a cash crunch. The sudden cuts don’t allow for proper consultation with clients and families, they say. Whatever changes happen now will carry on into the next fiscal year, they added.
