Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 21, 2026

AMC Calls for Lifespan Autism Supports and Inclusion of First Nations in Manitoba’s Autism Strategy Act

WINNIPEG, MB — The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is calling on the Manitoba government to ensure that Bill 232, The Autism Strategy Act, recognizes and supports autistic First Nations citizens throughout their lives, including adulthood, and addresses the systemic barriers First Nations families face in accessing timely, culturally safe and appropriate care.

The passage of Bill 232 through committee is an important step toward establishing a provincial autism strategy. However, concerns about amendments that appear to exclude autistic adults raise serious questions about whether the legislation will deliver the comprehensive, lifespan approach that autistic people and their families have been advocating for.

“First Nations families should not have to fight the same battles repeatedly just to secure the care and support their loved ones need,” said Grand Chief Kyra Wilson of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. “We know what happens when systems are fragmented, when responsibility is passed from one department to another, and when families are left to navigate complicated processes on their own. We cannot allow those same failures to become entrenched in Manitoba’s approach to autism.”

For First Nations families, access to services is shaped by longstanding inequities, including geography, limited services in rural and remote communities, waitlists, inadequate funding and jurisdictional barriers. These challenges can become even more pronounced when a child transitions into adulthood and the services they once relied upon are no longer available.

The lessons of Jordan’s Principle must not be ignored. First Nations children and their families have too often been forced to navigate disputes over jurisdiction and responsibility while waiting for essential services. Jordan’s Principle was established to ensure First Nations children can access the public services they need without being disadvantaged by jurisdictional disputes. Its purpose and protections must be respected, and the systemic failures it addresses must not be reproduced in the design of Manitoba’s autism strategy.

“Jordan’s Principle was born out of a profound injustice: a First Nations child should never have to wait for essential services because governments cannot agree on who is responsible,” Grand Chief Wilson said. “We must learn from that history. Our children deserve support, and they deserve continuity of care as they grow into adulthood. We cannot build a strategy that recognizes a person’s needs as a child but leaves them without appropriate supports as an adult.”

The AMC emphasizes that a provincial autism strategy must be developed with meaningful participation from First Nations, autistic people, families, caregivers and community-based organizations. It must account for the realities of First Nations, including those in northern and remote Manitoba, where access to diagnostic services, specialized supports, inclusive education, housing and employment opportunities can be limited.

A strategy must also move beyond broad commitments and establish clear accountability for implementation. Public reporting on service access, wait times, regional disparities and progress toward defined objectives is necessary to determine whether the strategy is making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

First Nations families should not have to depend on where they live, their financial circumstances or their ability to advocate persistently within government systems to obtain appropriate support. Nor should autistic adults be left without services simply because they have reached an arbitrary age threshold.

“The measure of this legislation will not be the announcement of a strategy. It will be whether First Nations people and families can actually access the support they need, when they need it, throughout their lives,” said Grand Chief Wilson. “That means listening to autistic First Nations citizens, respecting the knowledge of families and communities, and ensuring that First Nations are involved in shaping the policies and services that affect them.”

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs calls on the Manitoba government to ensure Bill 232 provides for a genuinely lifespan-focused autism strategy, with the inclusion of autistic adults, meaningful First Nations participation, equitable access to services across Manitoba, and transparent accountability for results.

First Nations families should not have to fight for support at every stage of life. Autism is lifelong, and the commitment to care and inclusion must be lifelong as well.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Communications Team
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Email: media@manitobachiefs.com

About the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs:

The AMC was formed in 1988 by the Chiefs in Manitoba to advocate on issues that commonly affect First Nations in Manitoba. AMC is an authorized representative of all 63 First Nations in Manitoba with a total of more than 172,000 First Nations members in the province, accounting for approximately 12 percent of the provincial population. AMC represents a diversity of Anishinaabe, Nehetho / Ininew, Anisininew, Denesuline, and Dakota Oyate peoples.