I was in Manitoba this summer and noticed this. I am so glad it is getting the recognition it deserves.
The Government of Ontario enacted the Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act in 2005. This act lays the framework for the development of
province-wide mandatory standards on accessibility in five key areas of daily
life:
A person
with a disability can now take his or her place in Manitoba's Legislature as
Speaker, premier, senior minister or leader of the opposition — with no access
barriers.
The floor
of the 96-year-old chamber was lifted in a $1.45-million renovation, making the
majority of the room accessible to people in wheelchairs.
Speaker
Myrna Dreidger said the renovations put Manitoba's Legislature in the
forefront of accessibility across the country.
"A
lot of the other Legislatures don't have this level of accessibility,"
Dreidger told a group of construction workers who worked on the project.
The group
was in the Legislature Monday morning in advance of a ceremony officially
reopening the renovated chamber.
Not only
is the space far more accessible, but the project cost less than expected.
"We
came in on time and under budget, which is a delight to be able to say,"
project manager Lynn Selman told reporters during a tour of the chamber.
The work
includes making the first and last rows of the government and opposition
benches wider and a ramp allowing wheelchairs to ride on to the floor of the
chamber. The chamber's sound system has been upgraded as well.
Aisles
behind the front benches in the chamber widen to allow access. (Jaison
Empson/CBC)
Initially
a lift was considered as a part of the renovations, but it was seen as
intrusive and noisy.
The
chamber floor was raised 2.5 feet (76 cm) above its original level and
rebuilt with marble taken from the same quarry used in the original
construction.
The old
floor, in its original condition, remains below the newly constructed surface.
Driedger
said the 24 members of the Accessibility Advisory Committee working on the
project unanimously approved the changes, but as recently as last year it
seemed almost impossible to find a solution that would avoid using lifts and
still create easy access.
'Why don't you just raise the floor?'
"Finally
one day we were sitting at a committee, and again, how do we do this? We really
didn't even think that it would be possible, and then one of our members on the
committee said, 'why don't you do this?" Dreidger said.
That
recommendation was studied and eventually put into place.
Raising
the chamber floor made installing a ramp an option, instead of a noisy
obtrusive lift. (Jaison Empson/CBC)
It's also
what MLA Steven Fletcher wanted to see.
Fletcher,
who has had an uneasy relationship at best with his own party, and with how
changes to the Legislature were happening, is the first quadriplegic MLA
elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
Last year
Fletcher said his privilege as a parliamentarian has been breached by access
issues, but his appeal was voted down by the government.
On
Monday, Fletcher was happy his suggestion to raise the floor was followed and
said he likes the results.
"It
was inexplicable to me how they could have come up with lifts ... it was just a
ridiculous and expensive plan," Fletcher said, adding he is "very
pleased what is happening here. It is much better."
Fletcher
didn't make it to chamber reopening ceremony. He was two blocks from the
Legislature in a courtroom, watching his lawyer fight the province for his
right to cross the floor symbolically — to another party — if desired.
Fletcher
said as important as making the Legislature accessible for all Manitobans,
his lawsuit is also a "fundamental fight."
"It
was the one thing that would probably keep me away from something like this; I
was in court, fighting for democracy," Fletcher said.
The fall
session of the Legislature begins on Wednesday.
Does this change
your mind about people with disabilities in the workplace?
If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act (AODA) or
how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the
application of Corporate
Social Responsibility, please
contact Sandra Broekhof
@ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca
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