Would you believe Lisa MacLeod did it again? Another constituent tries for a meeting.
As I think many people know, I tried, and failed, to secure a meeting with my MPP Lisa MacLeod. If you want to re-live that fateful journey, here’s the link:
What I didn’t expect was that almost the exact same thing would happen to another constituent.
Sophie Barrette is fellow Nepean dweller, and has a young son on the autism spectrum. She decided she wanted to meet with her MPP to discuss concerns about the new Ontario Autism Program.
While most of my interactions with the office were by email, Sophie was making phone calls. Daily calls. She had many questions, and some things she wanted to say to her MPP about the new plan. She was determined to get a meeting.
Her calls to the constituency office started about late February, and she tried to make contact every day if she could. Just as I did, Sophie filled out a Meeting Request Form, was told she would get a call back …and she didn’t (SHOCKER), so Sophie kept up her calls to the office.
About a month later, maybe late March or early April, she was given a meeting date of May 3rd, and was even given a time too — 1pm. Finally getting somewhere. That was more firm than what I had been holding onto in my quest.
Sophie continued to call a couple times a week, to confirm the meeting details. It was on. This was happening. She had confirmation as recent as April 29th (just 4 days before the meeting date). She had booked the day off of work, just as I did, to make sure she was fully available. It was a 12 hour shift, and she was low on vacation days because of all the medical appointments she has to bring her son to, but this was important, and she had a confirmed meeting, so she was going to see this through.
Sophie stayed up until 2am one night that week to prep for the meeting, going over what she wanted to say, and what she felt was most important to bring forward. She wanted to make sure she used her time wisely. She could very well be the first autism parent / constituent that Lisa MacLeod had confirmed a meeting for.
Then on Thursday, just ONE day before the confirmed meeting, Sophie gets an email from the Minister’s executive assistant:
“Unfortunately Minister MacLeod is unavailable to meet tomorrow due to having to be in Toronto for the inter-provincial meeting” and then goes on to say “All of the Minister’s meetings tomorrow are now in jeopardy pending details” and “uncertainty of when exactly she will be returning to Ottawa.”
The assistant claims that she will get back to Sophie “when I hear further on an alternative opportunity to meet either with the Minister, or to be part of a roundtable, or to have your concerns heard via another avenue.”
Toronto, you say? That’s just what they told me.
Now I knew Jason Kenney, newly elected Alberta premier, was visiting Toronto to meet with Doug Ford, but that has nothing to do with Lisa MacLeod. I kind of expected Lisa MacLeod to be in Ottawa on Friday, but I suspected she would be a little more covert this time about ducking another meeting with a constituent.
On Friday morning, the day of the freshly cancelled meeting, Sophie called the constituency office, and they said the Minister would be in Toronto for the morning, then likely back in Ottawa after that. Sophie offered to come in at the end of Lisa’s day Friday since she had taken the day off. They said they’d call her back, then ended up leaving a message saying that the day wasn’t going to work, but used vague language to say they would try to make something work at some point. Sure. We won’t hold our breath on that one.
That morning, Lisa MacLeod tweeted about a meet-up she had, that presumably took place in Toronto:
Okay, I’ll bite, maybe you were in Toronto after all. I don’t remember seeing a picture of Lisa MacLeod with Jason Kenney and Doug Ford that day, but I’m not trying to start a conspiracy theory here.
Anyway, here we are the day after, and Sophie decided this morning she’s going to take her son to a pancake breakfast nearby:
It was put on by the Lions Club, but was also a fundraiser for Quickstart, an amazing Ottawa autism charity, who has been very good to Sophie, and really helped her along her early path of navigating autism supports in Ottawa.
Wouldn’t you know it? Lisa MacLeod was there. Let me be perfectly clear (nudge), Sophie didn’t know the Minister would be there. Lisa MacLeod doesn’t know what Sophie looks like, and so Sophie goes up to her, and Lisa tickles her son on the tummy, then asks if they want to come make pancakes with her.
So standing next to each other are Lisa MacLeod, and Sophie Barrette. Sophie engages the Minister in conversation, telling her that it’s nice to finally meet her, and that they were supposed to have an official meeting the day before but it was cancelled. The Minister told her that’s impossible, that she was in Toronto yesterday. They never locked eyes again. Lisa also no longer seemed interested in the joint pancake-making she had invited them for. She walked away after one batch of pancakes, leaving her assistant behind to talk to Sophie briefly.
The Minister was at the breakfast for about 10 minutes total, before continuing on her endless pageant of photos ops that day.
What strikes me here is the Minister’s response. Saying it’s not possible that they had a meeting implies that either she was completely unaware it was in the books then canceled, or she’s outright lying about it. Actually, Minister, it’s NOT impossible — this was a confirmed meeting. I also find it hard to believe that the Minister’s office only became aware the day before the meeting that Lisa MacLeod wouldn’t be available at the agreed upon time.
There is a clear pattern here — and one that’s very insulting to the people that are jumping through hoops trying to meet with her.
Sophie didn’t deserve this. She put in the time, the effort, working harder than any constituent should have to, to try and get a meeting with her MPP. This is how she’s repaid for her efforts.
Clearly, a government #ForThePeople.
Disappointing, to say the least.
