How I Spent my Summer Vacation

It's a year to the day since five Nova Scotians prevailed in a Human Rights Board of Inquiry. Nova Scotia Environment was given “an order that the Respondent interpret, administer and enforce the words "washroom facilities for the public available in a convenient location" in s.20(1) of the Food Safety Regulations as requiring those washroom facilities to be accessible to members of the public who use wheelchairs."

365 days later not much has been accomplished.  After doing nothing for three months, the Justice Department chose to shoehorn the problem into a thing they call "Restorative Justice". It was a circus, with overzealous facilitators.  They could talk a dog off a meatwagon while being entirely uncommunicative. They ignored our questions and suggestions, treating us as inconveniences rather than partners in solving a problem. The process continues without me, and I will be stunned if anything happens by Christmas.

For the uninitiated,  the Department of Justice advertises that Restorative Justice is

• Holistic and comprehensive:
• Inclusive and participatory:
• culturally grounded and trauma-informed
• Responsive/contextual
• educative (not punitive), problem-solving, preventative and proactive

And bafflegab is Canada's  third official language....

Government sees no conflict in putting offenders in charge of sentencing. The other parties in Restorative Justice are Restaurants and Nova Scotia Environment. The Justice Department, which was the lead agent in opposing our complaint, runs Restorative Justice.

The Human Rights Commission is no help.  It opposed our complaint, it watched idly from the sidelines at our Board of Inquiry.  It hasn't shown any interest in the fact that the order is ignored.

The resistance to facts by the agencies responsible for public health policy and enforcement is alarming. The Health Authority says in a poster "Washing your hands with soap and water is the best way to reduce the spread of germs." Except you wheelchair users! The province’s top doctor dismissed the consequences of selective enforcement ("There is agreement that your concern is best handled through the NS Building Code."). Why wasn't his reaction "You can't wash your hands? Let's get to the bottom of this!"?

Government has an uncanny ability to think narrowly.  Instead of savings from improved public health, it sees only a decrease in HST revenue.  It lacks the imagination and ability to offset incentives with savings.

A couple of other things have gotten my attention:

Diversity and Inclusion are meaningless tropes of this government. From public health to employment, financial security, transportation, and selection for boards, examples abound. There is no equity for people with disabilities. The Auditor General got it right in May 2019:

• The Public Service Commission promotes diversity and inclusion, but has not completed all actions outlined in its diversity and inclusion strategy or assessed whether the goals of the strategy were met.
• The Public Service Commission does not have an adequate process to identify, collect, and analyze data needed to evaluate the effectiveness of its diversity and inclusion work.

People with disabilities continue to be treated as second-class citizens.  There's an Act and a Board, but the principle of equality hasn't penetrated the government.  Perhaps the most important lesson for me has been government's total silence on the numbers.  

• How many people identify themselves as Aboriginal People, African Nova Scotians and Other Racially Visible Persons or Persons with Disabilities when applying for jobs or Agencies Boards and Commissions?
• How many are successful?
• What are equity goals and how are they factored into selection? 
• Are diversity and inclusion part of procurement policy?

Until the government furnishes that information, it's hiding something..........

Finally, I've watched the government's cruel and cynical handling of a controversial Asbestos disposal site in rural Annapolis County.  They're poisoning a tiny and powerless community.  This government has neither brains nor principles.