What the budget delivered
Budget allocations are measured against the children still waiting.
Registered
88,175Children registered
Total in the Ontario Autism Program queue
CBC FOI Jan 2026
Funded
20,666Have active funding
Just 23.4% of registered children
CBC FOI Jan 2026
Waiting
67,509Still waiting
Registered. Diagnosed. Un-funded.
CBC FOI Jan 2026
Verified — CBC FOI Jan 2026
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Children registered | 88,175 |
| Have active funding | 20,666 |
| Still waiting | 67,509 |
1988
Records Retroactively Exempt
$57.9M
AccessOAP — Not Subject to FOI
$691.2M
OAP Spending With Limited Oversight
0
Auditor General Audits of AccessOAP
The Ontario government framed the Bill 212 FIPPA amendments as modernization. The Information and Privacy Commissioner disagreed.
Government: “These amendments modernize freedom of information for the digital age.”
IPC Commissioner Patricia Kosseim has expressed concern that the amendments would undermine the public’s right to access government records. In the Commissioner’s assessment, retroactively exempting ministerial briefing notes back to 1988 is about “hiding government-related business to evade public accountability.”
Government: “Delegated delivery is an efficient way to deliver autism services.”
FIPPA does not cover private operators like AccessOAP, which manages OAP intake and waitlist operations under a $57.9M contract. Families cannot FOI AccessOAP directly for records about their child’s waitlist position or service allocation decisions.
Government: “The public can still access information through existing channels.”
The retroactive exemption scope extends back to 1988 — meaning records about foundational OAP policy decisions, ministerial briefings on autism program design, and draft funding models could all be withheld. Existing channels do not cover delegated operators.
Ontario’s autism program operates through a complex web of delegated delivery, private operators, and ministerial discretion. Transparency is the only mechanism families have to hold the system accountable.
The Ontario Budget 2026 was tabled on March 26. Here are the transparency indicators to evaluate:
Verified Facts
$965M — Ontario allocated to the Ontario Autism Program in 2026-27
According to the FAO (2020 report), OAP funding covers less than one-third of estimated need at 2018-19 service levels
88,175 — children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
23.4% — Only 20,666 children have active funding agreements () — less than one in four
WHO recommends accessible, community-based early interventions for children with autism — timely evidence-based psychosocial interventions improve communication and social engagement