We all have a role in creating an accessible Canada: Senator Petitclerc
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When I was appointed to the Senate in 2016, I knew one of my primary roles would be to serve as the voice of people with disabilities in Ottawa. I embraced this responsibility and the unique opportunity to help transform our communities into more inclusive and accessible spaces. Seven years on, it’s clear to me that we still have a long way to go. The needs are vast, the barriers all around us. Fortunately, we are making progress.
Slowly but surely, the culture is changing. The conversation about diversity and inclusion is finally getting the attention it deserves. The Accessible Canada Act adopted in 2019 requires the federal government and its agencies to eliminate, by 2040, the barriers that millions of Canadians living with disabilities encounter every day.
Just a few days ago, we made history with Bill C-22, which creates a disability benefit for low-income individuals aged 18 to 64.
Beginning in 2024, this monthly financial support will reduce the poverty that disproportionately affects more than 1 million Canadians living with disabilities.
But that won’t be enough. We need more, and better, for everyone — including people with disabilities who, like me, have defied the statistics. In my adult life, I have gone from gold-medal athlete to the Senate. I have been called a model of determination and positivity, and that’s true, but it’s not the whole story.
Ever since the accident that paralyzed me from the waist down, my day-to-day life, like that of all Canadians with disabilities, has been peppered with irritations, barriers and prejudices.
Regardless of your socio-economic situation, living with a disability means starting your day knowing you will face barriers both large and small. Even in a city like Montréal, barriers abound. As soon as you leave home, you’re on the hunt for an accessible parking space. Then you have to figure out how to access local businesses, restaurants, salons and even essential services such as groceries, medical clinics and banks.
If you’re a parent or student with a disability, good luck finding an accessible school! They are few and far between because the law does not require them to be accessible. Just imagine how heartbreaking it is for a dad in a wheelchair who can’t attend his son’s year-end performance because the venue isn’t accessible. Imagine a little girl who becomes disabled because of an accident and has to leave her friends and change schools. That kind of thing is unacceptable in 2023!
The recreation situation is just as bad. For example, last year, the playground at my local park was upgraded to the tune of millions of dollars. It was supposed to be accessible. It isn’t. All it has is a ramp leading down to the decidedly un-accessible wood-chipped play area. Parents and children with disabilities can’t use it. Too bad, so sad, even if you pay municipal and school taxes.
Then there are the many little things we all find frustrating, things that have a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities, such as never-ending roadwork.
Here’s a classic example: a 40-metre pedestrian detour with a ramp at one end but not the other. What are people supposed to do then?
Never mind winter, when municipal maintenance failures directly impact people with disabilities. Pedestrians can walk around snowed-in sidewalks. People in wheelchairs? They just have to stay home.
Whose fault is this? Whose job is it to solve these problems?
People with disabilities cannot let their guard down. We must constantly insist on equal access for all. Doors everywhere are opening…slowly. But we need to bust them down. We need to seize opportunities. The ball is in our court. As a minority group with specific needs, we must demand respect for our rights.
The thing is, we need allies at all levels. Accessibility must be a collective responsibility and undertaking. We need everyone on board. Obviously, Ottawa can’t fix everything. Provinces, municipalities and businesses need more ambitious inclusion agendas. And we, the people, with or without disabilities, must be more aware and more vigilant.
Physical access is one thing, but the key is ensuring everyone can access an equivalent experience. From architectural barriers to negative social prejudices, universal access must become a given—partly because it’s a right, but also because an inclusive society is win-win. At the end of the day, a person with a disability will always have more potential than limitations. All we have to do is remove the barriers they face, one by one.
Senator Chantal Petitclerc represents the senatorial division of Grandville in Quebec.
This article was published in La Presse on July 1, 2023 (in French only).
When I was appointed to the Senate in 2016, I knew one of my primary roles would be to serve as the voice of people with disabilities in Ottawa. I embraced this responsibility and the unique opportunity to help transform our communities into more inclusive and accessible spaces. Seven years on, it’s clear to me that we still have a long way to go. The needs are vast, the barriers all around us. Fortunately, we are making progress.
Slowly but surely, the culture is changing. The conversation about diversity and inclusion is finally getting the attention it deserves. The Accessible Canada Act adopted in 2019 requires the federal government and its agencies to eliminate, by 2040, the barriers that millions of Canadians living with disabilities encounter every day.
Just a few days ago, we made history with Bill C-22, which creates a disability benefit for low-income individuals aged 18 to 64.
Beginning in 2024, this monthly financial support will reduce the poverty that disproportionately affects more than 1 million Canadians living with disabilities.
But that won’t be enough. We need more, and better, for everyone — including people with disabilities who, like me, have defied the statistics. In my adult life, I have gone from gold-medal athlete to the Senate. I have been called a model of determination and positivity, and that’s true, but it’s not the whole story.
Ever since the accident that paralyzed me from the waist down, my day-to-day life, like that of all Canadians with disabilities, has been peppered with irritations, barriers and prejudices.
Regardless of your socio-economic situation, living with a disability means starting your day knowing you will face barriers both large and small. Even in a city like Montréal, barriers abound. As soon as you leave home, you’re on the hunt for an accessible parking space. Then you have to figure out how to access local businesses, restaurants, salons and even essential services such as groceries, medical clinics and banks.
If you’re a parent or student with a disability, good luck finding an accessible school! They are few and far between because the law does not require them to be accessible. Just imagine how heartbreaking it is for a dad in a wheelchair who can’t attend his son’s year-end performance because the venue isn’t accessible. Imagine a little girl who becomes disabled because of an accident and has to leave her friends and change schools. That kind of thing is unacceptable in 2023!
The recreation situation is just as bad. For example, last year, the playground at my local park was upgraded to the tune of millions of dollars. It was supposed to be accessible. It isn’t. All it has is a ramp leading down to the decidedly un-accessible wood-chipped play area. Parents and children with disabilities can’t use it. Too bad, so sad, even if you pay municipal and school taxes.
Then there are the many little things we all find frustrating, things that have a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities, such as never-ending roadwork.
Here’s a classic example: a 40-metre pedestrian detour with a ramp at one end but not the other. What are people supposed to do then?
Never mind winter, when municipal maintenance failures directly impact people with disabilities. Pedestrians can walk around snowed-in sidewalks. People in wheelchairs? They just have to stay home.
Whose fault is this? Whose job is it to solve these problems?
People with disabilities cannot let their guard down. We must constantly insist on equal access for all. Doors everywhere are opening…slowly. But we need to bust them down. We need to seize opportunities. The ball is in our court. As a minority group with specific needs, we must demand respect for our rights.
The thing is, we need allies at all levels. Accessibility must be a collective responsibility and undertaking. We need everyone on board. Obviously, Ottawa can’t fix everything. Provinces, municipalities and businesses need more ambitious inclusion agendas. And we, the people, with or without disabilities, must be more aware and more vigilant.
Physical access is one thing, but the key is ensuring everyone can access an equivalent experience. From architectural barriers to negative social prejudices, universal access must become a given—partly because it’s a right, but also because an inclusive society is win-win. At the end of the day, a person with a disability will always have more potential than limitations. All we have to do is remove the barriers they face, one by one.
Senator Chantal Petitclerc represents the senatorial division of Grandville in Quebec.
This article was published in La Presse on July 1, 2023 (in French only).