Thunder Bay Family Network

12/24/2025

✨ Wishing you a season filled with joy, peace, and togetherness! From all of us at Thunder Bay Family Network – Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 🎄❤️

12/11/2025

🎉 Exciting News from Thunder Bay Family Network! 🎉
We are thrilled to announce our 2026 Slate of Officers:
✨ President: Ken Maclam
✨ Vice President: Nic Leblanc
✨ Secretary: Emily Bailey
✨ Treasurer: Dave Covello
✨ Board Directors: Sharon Bak, Debbie Christensen, Adrianna Atkins, Melanie Jackson, Brandi Wanzuk
👏 Congratulations to all our board members and new officers for your continued dedication to TBFN’s mission and values!
💌 During this transition, please reach out to:
📧 Past President: Sharon Bak (sharon@tbfn.ca)
📧 Current President: Ken Maclam (ken@tbfn.ca)
And kindly cc: info@tbfn.ca
🙏 A heartfelt thank you to Past President Sharon Bak and Vice President Debbie Christensen for their incredible contributions over the years!
💙 Together, we look forward to an amazing year ahead!

12/03/2025

It is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), and this year’s theme is “Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress.”

Today is a day to celebrate the progress that has been made. We honour the leadership, resilience, and contributions of persons with disabilities, and recommit to building a more inclusive society—one where everyone has the same opportunities to reach their full potential.

We also know there is much more work to do. People with disabilities continue to face barriers to a good life, confronting inaccessibility and ableism every day. Many remain in abject poverty, are paid lower wages or excluded from work altogether, and are routinely denied dignity, autonomy, and independence—whether in equitable healthcare, recognition of legal capacity, access to justice, inclusive education, Medical Assistance in Dying, and more.

We must build a more just, inclusive, and equitable country and world. We celebrate the progress made, but we will not stop until everyone belongs.

There are many events taking place across the country today, and we invite you to join in.

A virtual commemorative event will be hosted by the United Nations from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. today, bringing together Member States, UN leaders, disability advocates, and youth. If you are interested, learn more here:
https://www.un.org/en/observances/day-of-persons-with-disabilities

12/03/2025

Learn more about Community Living Ontario's Council here: https://communitylivingontario.ca/who-we-are/council/

12/01/2025

Just a friendly reminder to join ARCH Disability Law Centre and Law Society of Ontario on December 3 for an important virtual discussion about disability rights in Canada.

Ways Forward for Disability Rights in Canada: Community involvement in UN review processes

📅 Wednesday, December 3, 2025
🕠 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM ET
💻 Virtual program
♿ ASL and captioning available
✔ Accredited for 2 hours of EDI Professionalism Content
💵 Free to attend

Keynote Speaker:
• Professor Laverne Jacobs, University of Windsor, Faculty of Law

Speakers:
• A representative of the Law Society of Ontario
• Robert Lattanzio, Executive Director, ARCH Disability Law Centre
• Elsie Tellier, Staff Lawyer, ARCH Disability Law Centre
• Dr. Susan L. Hardie, PhD, Executive Director, Eviance
• Rohini Peris, President & CEO, Environmental Health Association of Canada / Québec
• Yan Grenier, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Université Laval
• Anne MacRae
• Kerri Joffe, Staff Lawyer, ARCH (on leave)

This program was originally scheduled for National AccessAbility Week in May 2025 but will now take place on December 3 to align with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Canada appeared before the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in March 2025 for its latest review. At this event, we will talk about the Committee’s new Concluding Observations, key findings, and how these recommendations can support disability rights advocacy and legal work in Canada. We will also share how civil society can take part in the UN reporting and review process.

Register to get the link: https://archdisabilitylaw.ca/get-involved/events/international-day-of-persons-with-disabilities/

11/28/2025

11/27/2025

Excited for the 26th annual Parade of Lights hosted by the Thunder Bay Police Association!

Volunteers will be out collecting donations during the parade in support of Autism Ontario North Region, George Jeffrey Children's Foundation, Thunder Bay Therapeutic Riding Association and Special Olympics Ontario - Thunder Bay!

You can also donate online, by visiting https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/parade-of-lights-thunder-bay/

Additionally, The Parade of Lights has also partnered with Milk and Water Baking Co., so between now and December 7th, for every 6 cupcakes purchased, $5 will be donated to the Parade of Lights.

It is not to late to volunteer and you can sign up here: https://forms.gle/SXcFt2r78xgMwdAK6

More information can be found by clicking: www.paradeoflightstb.ca

11/27/2025

Thank you so much P4P Planning Network for joining us! Your time, energy, and enthusiasm made the event a success. We appreciate your partnership and your passion!!

11/26/2025

If you think this is just a Southern Ontario issue, you would be incorrect. We personally know of families in our area who have experienced this and it needs to stop. As noted in the news clip, this is about human dignity and our loved ones deserve nothing less.

Yesterday, CLO's Social Policy Director, Shawn Pegg, was interviewed by CityNews in response to the Ombudsman's report focused on people with intellectual disabilities being hospitalized inappropriately.

Watch the segment here https://youtu.be/9sfMlq_GqqI?si=FTYQ185iP8YyWJwy

11/26/2025

Today, Ombudsman Paul Dubé published his report, Lost in Transition, revealing how the province’s systemic failure to help people with complex developmental disabilities and high needs has left too many to suffer for unnecessarily long periods in hospital.

“This is simply unacceptable,” Ombudsman Dubé says in his report. “Uniquely vulnerable members of our society are entitled to have their rights respected and to live with dignity in humane, compassionate conditions.”

Among his 24 recommendations, the Ombudsman calls on the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and the Ministry of Health to:
• Create a joint forum for proactive system planning
• Improve capital planning to create more supportive living spaces in the community
• Improve recruitment and retention – including for French-speaking staff in clinical and community settings
• Improve data collection and information sharing between the sectors

The ministries have unequivocally accepted all of the recommendations, including that they report back to the Ombudsman every six months on their progress in implementing them.

Full report and related materials available here: https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/en/our-work/investigations/lost-transition

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Aujourd’hui, l’Ombudsman Paul Dubé a publié son rapport, Transferts en souffrance, démontrant comment l’incapacité systémique du gouvernement provincial à venir en aide aux personnes ayant des déficiences intellectuelles complexes et des besoins complexes a mené à des hospitalisations indues prolongées.

« C’est tout simplement inacceptable », écrit l’Ombudsman Dubé dans son rapport. Les membres particulièrement vulnérables de notre société ont des droits qu’il nous faut respecter et une dignité qu’il nous faut protéger; ils(elles) méritent des conditions humaines et de la compassion. »

Dans ses 24 recommandations, l’Ombudsman exhorte le ministère des Services à l’enfance et des Services sociaux et communautaires et le ministère de la Santé à prendre les mesures suivantes :
• Établir une tribune conjointe pour amorcer une planification proactive du système.
• Améliorer la planification des immobilisations pour offrir plus de logements avec services de soutien dans la collectivité.
• Améliorer le recrutement et la rétention – notamment du personnel parlant français en milieu clinique et dans la collectivité.
• Améliorer la collecte de données et l’échange d’information entre les secteurs.

Les Ministères ont accepté sans équivoque toutes les recommandations, y compris qu'ils fassent un rapport à l’Ombudsman tous les six mois sur les progrès de leur mise en œuvre.

Le rapport complet et les documents connexes sont disponibles ici : https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/fr/notre-travail/enquetes/transferts-en-souffrance

11/26/2025

Ombudsman Paul Dubé’s latest report, released yesterday, highlights the cases of seven individuals with complex developmental disabilities and high needs who languished in hospitals for years, waiting for appropriate housing and support as their life skills and behaviours deteriorated.

Addressing reporters at Queen’s Park, Ombudsman Dubé said:

“We must remember that the people at the heart of this report are among society’s most vulnerable. They, and their caregivers, are navigating incredibly complex realities – autism, cerebral palsy, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, schizophrenia, intellectual delays, seizure disorders, and a range of mental health and physical challenges.

“Many have what is known as a dual diagnosis, and far too often, they are languishing in hospital for months at a time because there is no adequate system to ensure a timely transition out of hospital and into the developmental supports and services they actually need.

“The fact that our system continues to rely on hospitals as a default placement is not just inefficient – it is unfair, inappropriate, and profoundly harmful to them and their families.”

Read the Ombudsman’s report, recommendations and full remarks: https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/en/our-work/investigations/lost-transition

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Le rapport de l’Ombudsman Paul Dubé publié hier met en lumière les cas de sept personnes avec des troubles du développement complexes et des besoins élevés qui ont dépéri dans des hôpitaux en attendant un logement et un soutien appropriés, tandis que leurs compétences de vie et leurs comportements se détérioraient.

S’adressant aux journalistes à Queen’s Park, l’Ombudsman Dubé a dit :

« Il est essentiel de se rappeler que les personnes au cœur de ce rapport figurent parmi les plus vulnérables de la société. Elles, ainsi que leurs personnes soignantes, doivent faire face à des réalités d'une complexité incroyable : autisme, paralysie cérébrale, anxiété, troubles obsessionnels-compulsifs, schizophrénie, déficience intellectuelle, troubles épileptiques et toute une gamme de problèmes de santé mentale et de handicaps physiques.

« Beaucoup de ces personnes présentent ce que l'on appelle un double diagnostic, et bien trop souvent, elles languissent à l'hôpital pendant des mois faute de système adéquat pour assurer un transfert rapide hors de l'hôpital et vers les services et soutiens au développement dont elles ont réellement besoin.

« Le fait que notre système continue de privilégier l'hôpital comme lieu d'orientation par défaut est non seulement inefficace, mais aussi injuste, inapproprié et profondément préjudiciable pour elles et leurs familles. »

Consultez le rapport de l’Ombudsman, ses recommandations et son mot d’ouverture : https://ombudsman.on.ca/fr/notre-travail/enquetes/transferts-en-souffrance