On Wednesday February 3rd, Conceivable Dreams made a presentation to the Ontario Budget Committee explaining why IVF funding should be included in the upcoming 2010 budget.

Please join us on Family Day, Monday February 15, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. for Building Blocks to Build Families. Conceivable Dreams will be placing larger than life building blocks on the steps of Queen's Park. The blocks are meant to show this government that funding IVF will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The blocks will be made out of full boxes of diapers and after the rally we will be donating the diapers to the Red Door Family Shelter.

Location: South Grounds of the Ontario Legislative Building, Queen's Park.

Guest Speakers:

• Jane Evans (an infertility patient) who will speak about the financial strain on individual families in pursuing IVF in the absence of government funding
• Dr. Art Leader (Member of the Ontario Expert Panel and physician and professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Medicine at the University of Ottawa, and a co-founder of the Ottawa Fertility Centre) who will be speaking about the work of the Expert Panel, focusing on the cost-savings to government of funding IVF
• Cheri DiNovo, MPP (NDP Critic for Women’s Issues) who will call on the Ontario government to implement the Expert Panel recommendations as part of the March 2010 Budget

Background Information:

• In 2007, the McGuinty government made an election promise to make fertility treatment both easier and more affordable.
• In August 2009, its own Expert Panel on Infertility and Adoption concluded that IVF funding could save the government up to $550 million over 10 years.
• Since August 2009, there has been no movement on IVF funding.

We hope you will join us on Family Day. Please RSVP by sending an email to info@conceivabledreams.org or sign up for the event on Facebook.

Please consider sending a letter to your MPP in support of this event. Provide us with your email address and your postal code and we will send you a draft email that you can send to your MPP, Dalton McGuinty and Minister Broten.

Ontario Legislative Building
Queen's Park
(University Avenue & Queen's Park Crescent)

Driving Directions:

From Hwy. 401: Exit at Avenue Road (Exit 367). Continue South - follow signs indicating 11A. Avenue Rd. becomes Queen's Park Crescent south of Bloor St.

From QEW / Gardiner Expressway: Exit at York St. Continue north at Front St., veer left onto University Ave. University Ave. leads directly to Queen's Park.

From the Don Valley Expressway: Follow Bloor/Bayview exit. Follow exit to Bloor St. Turn right onto Bloor St. and continue to Avenue Rd./Queen's Park intersection. Turn left and continue south.

Public parking is not permitted on the grounds of Queen's Park. Street parking is located on streets adjacent to the building, and public parking lots are available within a 10 minute walk.

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)
For subway access, you can take the subway to either Queen's Park station or Museum Station on the University section of the Yonge - University - Spadina subway line.

For surface routes, choose the 506 streetcar that runs east and west along College St. and passes immediately south of the building. The Avenue Road #5 bus runs down Avenue Rd. from the Eglinton subway station and loops at the lower end of Queen's Park Cr., right across from the front of the building.