In 2016, I was appointed to the Senate, knowing that one of my main roles would be to bring the voices of people living with disabilities to Ottawa. I was driven by this responsibility and this unique opportunity to contribute to the transformation of our living environments into accessible, more inclusive places. Seven years later, I realize how much the game is not yet won. The scope of the needs is enormous and the barriers are everywhere. Luckily it’s moving.
Slowly but surely, there is a change in culture. This conversation about inclusion and diversity is finally taking the place it deserves. Since 2019, with the adoption of the Accessible Canada Actthe federal government and its entities must eliminate, by 2040, the barriers that millions of Canadians living with disabilities face every day.
Just a few days ago, history was made with the passage of C-22, a bill that creates the disability benefit for low-income people aged 18 to 64.
This monthly financial support, which will certainly begin in 2024, should reduce the poverty experienced, disproportionately, by more than 1 million Canadians with disabilities.
But that won’t be enough. It will take more, and better, for everyone, including people with disabilities who, like me, have defied the statistics. My adult life has taken me from a gold medal athlete to the Senate. I am told that I am a model of determination and a positive attitude. This image is certainly not false, but it does not say everything.
My daily life, since the accident that made me paraplegic, has never ceased to be strewn with a few reasons for irritation, barriers and prejudices; likewise for all Canadians with disabilities.
obstacles everywhere
Living with a disability, regardless of our socioeconomic status, means starting your day knowing that it will not be free of obstacles, big and small. There are many barriers, even in a city like Montreal. As soon as we leave our home, it’s the hunt to first find an accessible parking space. Then, we have to sort out our access to neighborhood shops, restaurants, hairdressers and even essential services such as grocery stores, medical clinics, banks.
If you are a parent or student with a disability, good luck finding an accessible school! There are very few, because the law does not require them to be. Just imagine for a moment the heartbreaking experience of a dad in a wheelchair who can’t attend his son’s end-of-year performance because of lack of access. Imagine a little girl who becomes disabled following an accident and has to leave her friends and change schools. In 2023, this is unacceptable!
For leisure, it is also shocking. For example, last year, the park in my neighborhood redid its playground, with millions, which were to guarantee universal access. Result: the park has no inclusive play, but a simple ramp that descends into the playground, which is made of wood chips, not accessible. Parents and children with disabilities do not have access. Too bad for us, who nevertheless pay municipal and school taxes.
And then there are the perks, which are frustrating for everyone, but have a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities. Never-ending road works, for example.
A classic: we make a detour to pedestrians, and 40 meters further, the other side of the detour has no ramps. What to do then?
And I’m not talking about the winters. The city’s lack of maintenance has a direct consequence for people with disabilities; when it is not cleared, a pedestrian goes around, on the other hand an individual in a wheelchair stays at home.
Whose fault is it, who is responsible for bringing this fight to an end?
For people with disabilities, the challenge remains to continue to be vigilant, to demand equal access for all. Doors are ajar in most circles, you have to break them down and seize the opportunities. The ball is in our court. As a minority with specific and targeted needs, it is essential to demand that our rights be respected.
But it will take allies at all levels. Accessibility must become a project and a collective responsibility. Everyone must board. Not all the solutions will come from Ottawa, that’s clear. Provinces, municipalities and businesses must adopt more ambitious inclusion plans. And we, the citizens, with or without disabilities, will have to be more sensitive and vigilant.
Beyond physical access, everyone should have access to an equivalent experience. Whether architectural barriers or unfavorable social prejudices, automatic accessibility must be developed. Because it is a right, but above all because a society that is inclusive is a society that wins. Because, in the end, a person with a disability will always have more potential than limits. Just remove, one by one, the obstacles in front of her.