Canadian rock band Arkells is allowing parents fighting the Ontario government’s new autism program to use “Relentless” as a rally cry.
Ross Maclean, who describes himself on Twitter as a “Proud Autism Dad, tweeted at Arkells last Friday: “Hi folks would u be kind enough to allow the Autism community in Ontario to use ‘Relentless’ as a battle cry song against the new Ontario Autism Program. It abandons tens of thousands of children.”
Arkells responded: “It’s all yours.”
The band’s tweet also took aim at Ontario premier Doug Ford. "Dougie, my man! I thought you were for the people?”
“Relentless,” from Arkell’s most recent album Rally Cry, includes the lyrics: “Relentless / We don't walk alone / Relentless / It's time to get to work, now let's get goin’”
Ontario announced last week that families of 23,000 children waiting for publicly funded autism therapy will instead get up to $140,000 to pay for treatment. Parents have said the therapy can cost up to $80,000 a year.