Response to Accessibility Coordination Update

The report submitted by John Traves, QC, Acting Chief Administrative Officer of Halifax Regional Municipality to Mayor Savage and Members of Council entitled Accessibility Coordination Update is poorly researched, derivative, incomplete, offensive, and trivial. It gets an F.

It is written in response to a motion requesting “a staff report on the status of the CAO’s Business unit Strategic Initiative related to Accessibility Coordination.”

“The Strategic Initiative related to accessibility coordination referenced in the above motion was the result of a motion of Regional Council of January 28th, 2014 that directed staff to include a statement “HRM is a leader in building inclusive and accessible community for everyone, including persons with disabilities and seniors” within the Healthy Communities Priority Outcome and develop a Business Plan to support this Outcome for consideration by Council in preparation for the 2015/2016 planning cycle.”

In the the section entitled Work to Date, not a single item of practical use has been accomplished in 922 days. There is shuffling of personnel, mention of a framework (but no  actual plan to do something), a poorly thought out and largely poached review of best practices, unspecified discussions with the Province about upcoming legislation (which people with disabilities have not yet been allowed to see). No ramps have been built, no employee data has been collected, no reports have been shared, and no progress has been made. Discriminatory hiring persists.

The section entitled Framework for Engagement including the Accessibility Advisory Committee is entirely in the future tense.

The section entitled Next Steps is a work of fiction.

There is no section on Community Engagement.

The report lists no Financial Implications because nothing concrete will be done.

The Best Practices Summary in Attachment A is mostly copied verbatim from Ontario Regulation 191/11 made under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. In the excerpt below, from Theme area 2 of the the Accessibility Coordination Update, I have highlighted in yellow words taken without change or attribution from the Ontario regulation:

2.1 Notify municipal employees and the public that accommodation, for job applicants with disabilities, is available upon request (recruitment materials and recruitment process). 2.2 Consult with the person making an accommodation request in determining the suitability of an accessible format or communication support. 2.3 Upon request, provide, or arrange for the provision of, information in an accessible format that (a) is needed in order to perform the employee’s job; and (b) is generally available to employees in the workplace. 2.4 Notify municipal employees of policies that support employees with disabilities, including, but not limited to, job accommodation that takes into account an employee’s accessibility needs. 2.5 Provide individualized workplace emergency response information to employees who have a disability, if the disability is such that individualized information is necessary. 2.8 Develop and document in writing a return to work process for employees who have been absent from work due to a disability and require disability-related accommodations in order to return to work. 2.7 Develop and document in writing individual accommodation plans for persons with disabilities. 2.8 Take into account the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities, as well as individual accommodation plans, when using its performance management process in respect of employees with disabilities. 2.9 Take into account the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities as well as any individual accommodation plans, when redeploying employees with disabilities. 2.10 Take into account the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities as well as any individual accommodation plans, when providing career development and advancement to its employees with disabilities. 2.11 Ensure that all aspects of recruitment and selection of employees are accessible to the needs of persons with disabilities. 2.12 Provide any and all disability related equipment and renovations to facilitate the employment of persons with disabilities on an individual basis. 2.13 Ensure that any cost of accommodation for an employee with disability does not come from the individual budget of the department or business unit that would act as a barrier to employment or career development of an employee.

Item 2.11 makes no sense. There is no explanation of the source of items 2.12 and 2.13, nor any indication why they might be considered best practices.

A best practices review is more than copying from Ontario, which has made many missteps. It should include other jurisdictions:

• Disability Discrimination Act 1992, Australia
• Equality Act 2010, UK
• Americans with Disabilities Act, USA
• 2005 Disability Act, France
• And of course the oft cited but seldom observed UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which Canada is a signatory

The report mentions none of these.

The report concludes with Attachment B, a list of 27 accomplishments in the area of inclusion.

They range from the ridiculous…

• Only accessible low floor buses are being purchased (you can’t buy an inaccessible transit bus)

To the offensive, inasmuch as Access-a-Bus is inherently discriminatory and ridiculously expensive...

• Service hours of Access a Bus the same hours of service as conventional transit.
• Fare structure for Access a Bus the same as conventional service.

To the obvious and trivial…

• New Transit Drivers hired have accessibility training
• Courtesy seating provided for persons with disabilities on conventional transit.
• Stop request system in place to disembark passengers in safer locations.

To taking credit for simply obeying the law…

• Service animal policy in place for Transit.

• Ongoing installation of audible pedestrian signals.
• More than 150 on-street accessible parking locations in place on HRM streets.
• More than 30 accessible taxis in service. (And declining)

• Web site currently being updated to have an accessibility section of information.
• Two new accessible transit terminals completed.
• Ferry service has audible terminal announcements.
• All ferry terminals accessible.
• Municipal buildings being built to CSA standard in terms of accessibility which is greater than the standards imposed by the Nova Scotia Building Code.

To extremely old news…

• Pilot project underway testing tactile making on curb cuts to improve accessibility for persons who are blind or visually impaired.  (First proposed in 2004)

• Regional Council has a sub-committee called the Accessibility Advisory Committee comprised of citizen stakeholders. (Since at least 2002)
• Call centre has TTY services. (Actually, it’s TDD, invented in 1964 and now largely obsolete)
• Sign language is provided upon request at Council meetings.
• CART (Captioning Access Real Time) is provided at Council meetings.
• Elevator upgraded in City Hall for larger pieces of mobility equipment.

To the ludicrously bureaucratic…

• Staff member from recreation regularly attends meetings of the meetings of the Accessibility Advisory Committee.
• Staff member from Corporate Facility Design & Construction regularly attends the meetings of the Accessibility Advisory Committee.
• Manager of Accessible Services at Transit regularly attends meetings of the Accessibility Advisory Committee.

And finally to the small handful of actual accomplishments…

• More than a hundred power door operators installed on HRM building as part of program to make HRM properties more accessible.
• Accessible picnic tables being introduced in parks and open spaces.
• Additional pool lifts being installed in both indoor and outside pool facilities.

It reflects poorly on the Acting CAO that he is willing to sign off on such a substandard piece of work. It reflects accurately the apathy of those who wrote it. It reflects poorly on Halifax, which aspires to be a leader in accessibility but continuously fails its citizens with disabilities.

Gus Reed

Improving on Nova Scotia Business, Inc.

Laurel Broten, president and CEO, at Nova Scotia Business Inc. said in the Chronicle-Herald that a year of talks with the Royal Bank produced the following deal:

NSBI will provide payroll rebates of $22,000,000 over 10 years if RBC's new cheque processing centre produces 500 new jobs.

Here's the math:

$22,000,000 / 500 / 10 = $4,400/job/year

If RBC creates 500 new jobs in the next 10 years, the company would add an estimated $240 million in salaries and benefits to the Nova Scotia economy, according to Nova Scotia Business Inc.

Here's the math:

$240,000,000 / 500 /10 = $48,000 average salary (this depends a little on how fast jobs are added and the nature of benefits, but it's a useable estimate).  

Annual provincial income tax on $48000 = $4608

Net gain to province = 10 yrs * ($4608 - $4400) =$2,080

$2,080 * 500 employees = $1,040,000

Here's some more math:
Broten's salary is $210,000/year, so over the life of the Royal Bank deal. we'll be paying her $2,100,000 - a little more than twice the savings to taxpayers.  Not much of a deal for us, eh?

Contrast that with my plan for incentives to employ workers with disabilities receiving assistance, which nets $14,133 per job in new revenues and program savings.  Depending on how you spend that, it's something less.  I was thinking $7,133 in savings was a nice round number.

Oh, and that's ANNUALLY, so $71,330 per job.  A lot more if you only incentivise the first year.

Here's the math:

Net gain for Laurel / Gus' net gain for each new disabled worker = How many disabled workers you'd need to hire to be better than Broten's deal with Royal Bank.

$1,040,000 / $71,330 = 14.58

Hiring 15 Nova Scotians with disabilities is a better deal than hiring 500 Royal Bankers.  People with disabilities would say this is obvious.

I freely admit that my plan does not create NEW jobs, but because it eliminates large government expenses and doesn't involve subsidies, each new hire has a much bigger impact. 

Like Broten's plan, there is little risk:

We prefer this arrangement because no rebate money is paid unless and until a company first meets employment and salary targets. This guarantees that we have a positive return on investment (ROI). In other words, Nova Scotia gets paid first.

Unlike Broten's plan, mine estimates a 10 year return of over a billion dollars.  Roughly 1000 times better.  And it is completely scalable - it works for 10 or 100 or 1,000 or 10,000.

My estimates rely on my interpretation of aggregate data.  The actual numbers are not available to mere taxpayers, but Laurel would have them.  I've been wrong before, but never by a factor of 1000.  If Broten is interested in real savings, real change and real innovation, she should take a look.

I know this is threatening to vested interests.  As an experiment, let's try it out on 15 people without delay.

Gus Reed

PS  James McGregor Stewart, after whom this society is named, was a director of the Royal Bank.  He saved their bacon on many occasions, proving that a person with a disability can be useful as well as ornamental.....

Incarceration of Information

Are you dying to find the latest annual report of the Nova Scotia Disabled Person's Commission (DPC)?  Look no further than the Disabled Persons Commission Annual Report 2002-2003.  Although Canada signed the UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities on March 11, 2010, it's still 3 years in the future for the DPC.

These 5 to 9 year old reports are among the most current documents on the website of the Nova Scotia Disabled Persons Commission, which today (October 26, 2012) proudly announces

This page and all contents Crown copyright © 2004, Province of Nova Scotia, all rights reserved.  Comments to: williaye@gov.ns.ca - Page last updated 2007-August-16. 

Five years.

What has this secretive commission, costing over $400,000 annually, whose director earns $86,621.28 been doing all that time?

That's what motivated me to write a detailed email to E. Anne MacRae, the executive Director, in late June, requesting copies of reports and minutes from their activities.

I received a response on July 12, which is reproduced in full here, and contains details of:

• efforts to increase the commission’s staff, to create a Disability Strategy for the province and to redesign the website to be fully accessible.
• A new and fully accessible website currently in the testing stage with the expectation that it will be rolled out by early Fall. 
• Links to 3 additional statistical reports, published in 2009 and 2010, all reviewing 2006 data 
• A list of current Commissioners
• Caution that many of the issues are complex and progress can be incremental. 
• And concluding with pride
• "I’m proud of our work and look forward to an expanding role for the commission as we embark on developing the Disability Framework." 

Nice, but not exactly the flood of pent-up information I was looking for.

So with my friend and fellow blogger Parker Donham, I filed a Freedom of Information Request on July 16, asking for the minutes of the Minister's Steering Committee meetings (twice a year for ten years) and the draft Disability Strategy and Disability Framework (whatever that is).

Not having heard by August 16, I inquired and learned there was no record of my request.  Should I have spent $10 to send registered mail?  

• So the 30 days for the DPC to respond actually started running August 16.
• September 16, a 30 day extension is sought 
• October 18, another 30 day extension, granted by the Freedom of Information Review Officer without consulting us.

90 days is way too long.  I think these people

• don't do anything
• have never written another annual report
• have confused 'disabled' with 'stupid'
• have confused 'disabled' with 'passive'
• need to be held accountable

As a disabled person, I'd like to be wrong about the people who are supposed to protect my interests.  So maybe I could get an answer before the UN Convention is signed.  3 years ago!

Gus Reed

PS Here are a half dozen studies that should have been done:

• Making Departmental Websites and Services Accessible
• The Payoff for Accessible Tourism
• Physical and Programmatic Barriers to Employment
• Accessible Transportation in Rural Nova Scotia
• Recreational Opportunities for Nova Scotians with Disabilities
• Moving Beyond a Medical Model of Disability

Correspondence

June 24, 2012

Dear Ms. MacRae,

I am researching an article for my blog on the efforts of the Disabled Persons Commission in relation to its vision and focus as articulated by the commission in testimony before the legislature in 2010:

"our vision is to be a leader in areas of education and awareness, accessibility, research and policy analysis, and the employability of Nova Scotians with disabilities"...."the biggest area that we focus on is creating information"

I am having trouble locating the documents and reports listed under the 'Duties' section of the act:

(a) advise the Co-ordinating Committee on matters pertaining to disabled persons in the community, including the provision of technical aids and the Building Code as it pertains to disabled persons;

(b) identify and study issues of concern to disabled persons and recommend action where appropriate;

(c) promote opportunities for self-help for disabled persons in the context of the family and the community;

(d) review programs and policies affecting disabled persons;

(e) respond to requests from the Co-ordinating Committee for advice on specific issues;

(f) prepare an annual guide book on programs serving disabled persons, including both programs administered by the Province and by other organizations;

(g) submit to the Government through the Co-ordinating Committee an annual report outlining the Commissions activities and achievements; and

(h) advise the Co-ordinating Committee on which community in the Province has done the most in any year to improve awareness of the accessibility for disabled persons. 1989, c. 4, s. 7.

Report on certain matters

8 Where the Commission reviews, considers or inquires into any matter at the request of or with the approval of the Co-ordinating Committee, the Commission shall make a report to the Co-ordinating Committee with respect to that matter at the conclusion of its deliberations. 1989, c. 4, s. 8.

Can you please provide me with copies of the reports, studies, guide books and reviews mentioned above? I am particularly interested in the annual reports and documents relating to the building code.

By way of illustration of the difficulty of locating the documents, here is some information on the timeliness of your website:

• Home Page last updated August 2007
• Last Annual Report posted April 2004
• Resource Directory from 2003
• Words and Expressions document does not exist
• The link to the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is for 2008

Finally, please forward

• the list of the 12 current appointed commissioners along with their emails.
• your staff list and emails
• an updated budget (you said $400,000 in your 2010 testimony)

Thank you in advance, 

Warren Reed
**********************************************
June 26, 2012

Hello Mr. Reed:

Thank you for your email.  We will be getting back to you with the information you have requested. Just to say as a start, you are right our website is out of date, and in fact we have been working on modernizing it and making it much more accessible to persons with disabilities. That testing is underway as we speak. We hope to have this work completed by the end of the summer at the very latest.
I will be back in touch with a longer email with some documents, if not by the end of this week, early next week, as we currently have some deadlines we have to meet by  Friday.

Sincerely,

Anne
**********************************************
July 12:

Mr. Warren Reed
406-1540 Summer StreetHalifax, NS B3H 4R9

Dear Mr. Reed:

Thank you for your e-mail of June 23, 2012 regarding your request for information about the Disabled Persons Commission.

The Disabled Persons Commission does have a vision statement resulting from a consulting process. The vision is ambitious and while we have made strides in some areas, there are others that are developmental.

Over the past five years, while we have focused on key issues as described in our vision, we have also on three additional: to increase the commission’s staff, to create a Disability Strategy for the province and to redesign our website to be fully accessible.

We have experienced a modest staff increase to a total of four positions. The commission is taking a leadership role in partnership with the disability community to create a Disability Framework. We’re close to completing an ambitious redesign of our website to become fully accessible.A new and fully accessible website is currently in the testing stage with the expectation that it will be rolled out by early Fall. Much of the information that you have requested will be available at this time.

For instance, we fully expect to include links to a series of our annual reports which are in production now. These reports contain detailed information regarding our daily activities and projects. They also report on meetings with the Coordinating Committee of Ministers. Meetings are held to update the Ministers about issues being raised with the commission. It is also a useful mechanism for Ministers to report on disability-specific programs within their own departments.On a regular basis, the commission publishes statistical manuals on persons with disabilities in Nova Scotia. The intent is to link these to the new website as well. If you prefer, you can also obtain them through the Community Counts website maintained by the Department of Finance.  They are as follows:

Persons With Disabilities in Nova Scotia: A Statistical Report 2010
Employment Statistics for Persons With Disabilities in Nova Scotia: A Statistical Report 2009
Income Statistics for Persons with Disabilities in Nova Scotia – Part A: A Statistical Report 2009-10

As requested, I am also sending you a list of our current Commissioners (see attached). Please note that our main telephone lines are conduits to staff and members. All of the commission’s staff respond to information requests from these lines daily: (902) 424-8280 (toll free (800)565-8280), TTY: 424-2667 (toll free (877)996-9954)

In closing, I wish to emphasize the Disabled Persons Commission’s commitment to serve all those living with disabilities across the province.

As you can appreciate, many of the issues we deal with on a daily basis are complex and progress can be incremental. I’m proud of our work and look forward to an expanding role for the commission as we embark on developing the Disability Framework.Sincerely,


E. Anne MacRae,Executive Director

Disabled Persons Commission Member’s List

Community Representatives
Mr. Ralph Ferguson – Pictou
Mr. William (Bill) Crawford – Yarmouth
Mr. Brian Tapper (Chair) – Dartmouth
Ms. Jane Warren – Wolfville
Ms. Marcie Shwery-Stanley – Sydney
Mr. John Cox – Dartmouth
Mr. Jeff Overmars – Dartmouth
Mr. Brian Cooper - Halifax
Government Representatives
Department of Community Services
Ms. Lorna MacPherson, Acting Director Services for Persons With Disabilities
Department of Health and Wellness
Ms. Patricia Murray, Acting Executive Director Mental Health, Children’s Services and Addiction Treatment Branch
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations
Ms. Georgina Dimock, Planning and Development Officer
Department of Labour and Advanced Education
Ms. Kimberly Kennedy, Regulatory Impact Specialist
Department of Education
Mr. Don Glover, DirectorStudent Services Division

Disabled Persons CommissionOperating Budget 2012-13

Salaries and benefits $273,800.00
Operational $132,200.00
Total $406,000.00

**********************************************
September 19 extension

September 19, 2012

Mr. Warren Reed & Mr. Parker Donham
1540 Summer Street, Apt. 406
Halifax, NS B3H 4R9

Dear Mr. Warren Reed & Mr. Parker Donham:

RE: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Application

We processed your application for access under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act on August 16, 2012. Your request reads:

• Any and all minutes of all meetings of the Coordinating Committee of Ministers from Jan 1, 2002, to the date of return of this request.
• Copies of any and all presentations or submissions made by the council or its executive director to the Coordinating Committee of Ministers from Jan 1,
• 2002, to the date of return of this request..
• Copies of the latest draft version of the Disability Strategy.
• Copies of the latest draft version of the Disability Framework.

We have extended the response time of 30 days, as provided for under Section 9(1) of the Act, for an additional thirty days to October 16, 2012. We advise of this extension for the following reasons;

(b) /there is no (a)/ a large number of records is requested or must be searched and meeting the time limitwould unreasonably interfere with the operations of the public body

(c) more time is needed to consult with a third party or other public body before the head of the public body can decide whether or not to give the applicant access to a requested record.

If you do not agree that there is justification for an extension of time, you can complain to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Review Officer by calling or writing as follows:

Ms. Dulcie McCallum,Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Review Officer
PO Box, 181, Halifax, NS B3J 2M4
Toll-free: 1-866-243-1564Fax: (902) 424-8303TTD/TTY: 1-800-844-0511

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns.
Sincerely,

E. Anne MacRae
Executive Director
**********************************************
October 18 extension

Date October 18, 2012

Mr. Warren Reed and Mr. Parker Donham
1540 Summer St. Apt. 406
Halifax, NS

Dear Mr. Reed and Mr. Donham:

Re:  Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy ApplicationThis letter is in regards to your request:

• Any and all minutes of all meetings of the Coordinating Committee of Ministersfrom Jan 1, 2002, to the date of return of this request. 
• Copies of any and all presentations or submissions made by the council or itsexecutive director to the Coordinating Committee of Ministers from Jan 1, 2002, to the date of return of this request.. 
• Copies of the latest draft version of the Disability Strategy. 
• Copies of the latest draft version of the Disability Framework.

I wish to advise you that we are seeking an extension beyond the initial 30 day extension that we claimed in my letter to you on September 19, 2012.  To do so we have requested the additionalextension from the Review Officer who may be contacting you to seek any representations you may wish to make on our request.  The reason for this additional extension is that a large number of records has been requested and more time is needed to consult with third parties.  We are thus seeking this extension under Section 9(1) (c).  An extension has been granted until November 18, 2012.

You have the right to ask the Review Officer to review this decision.  To do so, use Form 7, a copy of which is attached.  Send the completed form to:

Review Officer, P.O. Box 181, Halifax,N.S. B3J 2M4.

Change your city!

On the left is  a link to a petition asking HRM Mayoral candidates to show us their plan to comply with the  UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities.  This treaty, which the Human Rights Commission says binds HRM and all levels of government, requires a systematic effort to identify and remove barriers.  We ask candidates to outline their plan in 5 steps

1. make accessibility a central goal of their administration
2. identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers to accessibility
3. review procedures and policies and develop plans to ensure equitable access
4. encourage persons with disabilities to take an active role in government
5. include accessibility as part of the mission and responsibility of every department

Accessibility is a big issue in HRM, and voters are entitled to know how candidates would improve it.   An accessible city helps such disparate goals as employment, business creation and tourism.  Here are some approaches to each of the 5 items, but we want to hear the candidates ideas.

1.  Articulate a broad and comprehensive statement of why accessibility is important and what measures HRM will take to achieve it.
2.  Publish a map, publish a list, request emails and phone calls, invite the public to participate, ask the CNIB, the CPA, the  Society of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Nova Scotians to participate.  Require municipal departments to report barriers to access.
3.  Ask the HRM Auditor to be sure every program and service meets standards of fairness.
4.  Review the powers, responsibilities, composition and structure of HRM's Accessibility Advisory Committee.  Who do they report to, what is their mandate, what support do they get?  What is their record and how could it be improved?  Develop a staff position to oversee the implementation of full accessibility.

5.  Require a section in each department's annual report detailing which of their responsibilities affects accessibility and what measures are being taken.  Appoint an Accessibility Officer in every department to conduct public discourse.

So please sign the petition and we'll see what develops.

Gus Reed

PS and pass it along! 

Daring to be different | The Chronicle Herald

Canadian wheelchair athlete Josh Cassidy, who recently set a world record at the Boston Marathon in the wheelchair division, trains in Toronto on April 25, 2012. Cassidy will be representing Canada at the 2012 Paralympics in London, England. (NATHAN DENETTE / CP)

This op-ed appeared in the Chronicle Herald August 30, 2012

All 20 of the fastest times in the 2012 Boston Marathon belong to wheelchair racers. In fact, Canadian wheeler Joshua Cassidy (1:18:25) had time for a nap while waiting for Kenyan runner Wesley Korir (2:12:40) to finish. A luxurious 54 minutes, to be exact. Gravity? The course does drop 425 feet in 26 miles — a barely noticeable three-tenths of one per cent grade — but that benefits runners and wheelers alike. Meanwhile, the course has some daunting uphill stretches, and dragging an extra 15 pounds of wheelchair up Heartbreak Hill surely offsets any advantage from turning potential energy kinetic.


But this is apples and oranges, angels and pins. One shouldn’t be confused by the artificiality of divisions into thinking there is a single winner of the Boston Marathon, and then some women and then some wheelchairs. They’re all committed athletes, running the same race differently.

People with disabilities have a special perspective on difference — we are, in many ways, defined by it. Many of us embrace our differences as extraordinary gifts.

Some would say Stephen Hawking won a Nobel Prize in spite of his condition. People with more imagination might wonder if it’s because of his condition. Conventional thinkers see him as suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. (Lou, by the way, was not a bad ball player.) I’d say Stephen Hawking is a pretty spectacular physicist and that there’s a decent chance his achievement is connected to his physical characteristics. At the very least, his circumstance provides an unusual perspective on the universe. His work habits, his personality and maybe even the way his brain is wired are hard to separate from his success.

Without variety, we are doomed as a species. Some think people with disabilities are defective. They forget that nature’s experiments made it possible for chimps to walk upright and for plants to have sex. In fact, people with disabilities live at the leading edge of biological, cultural and technological evolution. As exemplars of diversity — living experiments — people with disabilities represent possibility, not failure.

When the rest of us can’t cope with the heat of global warming, someone with an unusual genetic makeup may be as cool as a cucumber. When the next avian flu arrives, a difference in blood chemistry may confer immunity. Genetic differences are humanity’s insurance policy — not a sideshow, but the main evolutionary event. People whose disability arises from non-biological causes (like accidents and injury) are often the first to use new technologies and inspire us to think of useful applications. And people with disabilities challenge our cultural assumptions every day.

We are a creative bunch, navigating the obstacles carelessly strewn across our physical and psychic environment. Imagine living in a world designed for aliens. Steps, books, iTunes, fibulas and sinks work for most of you. That’s great. But it’s more than a little entertaining figuring out how to make stuff work for the few of us. Artists paint with their feet, Aaron Fotheringham does flips in his wheelchair, Oscar Pistorius gets to the Olympics, Helen Keller got to Radcliffe and beyond. Life is a problem set and people with disabilities get an abundance of bonus questions.

Problem solving fortified with perseverance can unlock many puzzles. What would Sisyphus be without his rock? A disability is a lifelong exercise in persistence and patience and a lesson in how to plan for every eventuality. When one approach doesn't work, try another, and another. As Camus observed in his essay on Sisyphus, “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart.”

Do watch the Paralympics, remembering that the athletes are pioneers of the next chapter in the human story, and then follow along as best you are able.

Warren Reed is a human-rights advocate who lives in Halifax.

Have a say in the HRM Council election

Your Society is asking candidates for the HRM Council election on October 18 to endorse our Agenda for an Accessible Halifax. If you are in agreement with this initiative, you can send a message to the candidates urging their participation by clicking the link at the bottom or using the list of candidates to compose your own email.

Dear HRM Council Candidate,

It is estimated that 20% of Nova Scotians live with a disability. In order to achieve a fully accessible and barrier free HRM, the James McGregor Stewart Society seeks your support for some important measures. Most of these measures require only common sense and consideration of the needs of disabled Haligonians.

The names of candidates, their indication or absence of support and their comments are posted on our website http://jmcgs.blogspot.com/ Thank you in advance for supporting this initiative.

If elected to the HRM Regional Council, during my term I will support the following measures to ensure a more accessible Halifax:

Government

-All public meetings must be held in accessible locations, with appropriate amenities (signers, accessible washrooms) served by scheduled and accessible public transportation.
-There will be continuing emphasis on HRM website accessibility
-There will be an accessibility section in the Annual Report, detailing accomplishments
-HRM sponsored or funded events will be accessible to everyone
-I will encourage and pay attention to the HRM Advisory Committee on Persons with Disabilities

Infrastructure

-The HRM Municipal Service System Guidelines (Redbook) will be continually monitored to include modern standards of accessible design for infrastructure
-Heritage properties which are public accommodations will have a plan for accessibility
-HRM will develop plans to eliminate barriers in currently Inaccessible public facilities and budget accordingly

Municipal Services

-A fully accessible public transportation system, including taxis, remains one of HRM's highest priorities
-Public Safety and services must pay special attention to the needs of people with disabilities – for example:

-Include disability considerations in snow removal standards (curb cut clearing, bus platforms, tactile clues)
-zero tolerance for crimes against disabled people
-Emergency measures should address planning and protection for disabled people.

Thank you for your support.

Members of the James McGregor Stewart Society are asked to send emails encouraging candidates to support the Agenda for an Accessible Halifax.

Click to start an email to all candidates who have yet to respond

Or if your browser does not support mailto tags, cut and paste from this list:



and their replies:

The Historic Building Myth- a call for reform

The James McGregor Stewart Society calls on the Minister of Tourism and the HRM Heritage Advisory Committee to explicitly acknowledge that accessibility is the top priority in exterior renovation of heritage properties and to stop funding preservation for public buildings without adequate accessibility.

Historic property designation allows owners to apply for grants up to $10,000 for exterior preservation work and a rebate on part of the HST. Owners love this program, and it is popularly misunderstood to preclude such additions as ramps. So unless someone is paying attention, your own tax dollars can be used to exclude you from property.

Persons facing barriers are very used to exchanges like this:

"I'm looking for the ramp"

"I'm sorry, we don't have one. We're a historic building, you understand...."

Actually, we don't understand. You seldom see historic buildings that have not been retrofitted with electricity, flush toilets and telephones. The answer really is:

"Our building's appearance and my comfort are way more important than any rights you might think you have. We have a double standard and you better get used to it!"

The HRM Heritage Property Program Planning and Development Services DESIGN GUIDELINES simply say:

All exterior alterations to a municipal registered heritage property (ranging from, but not limited to, paint color, window replacements, re-roofing, and signage) must be reviewed by the Heritage Office.

I know I feel better that paint color is more important than I.

The word interior does not appear in Nova Scotia's Heritage Property Act. Should you be so lucky as to own a heritage property, you receive a Notice of Registration of Property as a Provincial Heritage Property which reads in part:

The effect of registration in the Provincial Registry of Heritage Property is that no demolition or substantial alteration in exterior appearance of the property may be undertaken from the date of registration without the approval of the Governor in Council.

So when someone says to you that they don't have an elevator or Braille signs because they're in a historic building, they are giving you a load of hooey. Don't let them get away with it!

Halifax is a town with hundreds of antique buildings whose charms are advertised to tourists and residents alike. Just like they do in London, England, for example. Here is a statement on Historic buildings in England:

It is important in principle that disabled people should have dignified access to and within historic buildings. If it is treated as part of an integrated review of access arrangements for all visitors or users, and a flexible and pragmatic approach taken, it should normally be possible to plan suitable access for disabled people without compromising a building’s special interest. Alternative routes or reorganising the use of space may achieve the desired result without the need for damaging alterations. Download the full document

And in the US:

Many city programs, services, and activities are conducted in buildings that are historically significant. In addition, many cities operate historic preservation programs at historic sites for educational and cultural purposes. If no accessibility changes are made at these facilities and locations, individuals with disabilities are unable to visit and participate in the programs offered. For example, people who use wheelchairs would not be able to reach the courtroom or clerk's office located in a historic nineteenth century courthouse if no physical changes are made to achieve access. Full text here

So what's so special about you, Halifax?

Do you agree? Give the Minister a piece of your mind! billdooks@eastlink.ca

Have wheels, will travel

Not to mention service dogs, white canes, hearing aids, oxygen, walkers, crutches and attendants.

Americans don't have a lot of vacation choices anymore. Their dollar is in the toilet, they're reeling from record (for them) gas prices, the economy is a shambles. A vacation in the Maritimes might be the only affordable alternative. But it's business as usual down at the Ministry of Tourism, where primitive access standards are the order of the day. Chalk up another loss for Nova Scotia.
-Gus Reed

With agencies, resorts and cities eagerly catering to the growing number of travellers with disabilities, the countless obstacles faced by someone in a wheelchair are starting to fall

ALLISON DUNFIELD Special to The Globe and Mail

April 23, 2008

After a car accident put Daryl Rock in a wheelchair in 1983, the Vancouver native became determined to put his life back together - and that meant continuing to follow his dream of seeing the world.

"I considered it a part of my rehab," he says.

Fast-forward 25 years, and his Facebook world map has 31 countries and 190 cities checked off - he has been to every continent but Antarctica and Africa.

And he's certainly not alone on the road. While people with disabilities say they face definite challenges to touring the world, with a bit of planning and because of improving accessibility, it is becoming easier and increasingly common.

A 2002 study by the Chicago-based Open Doors Organization found the travel market for Americans with disabilities to be worth about $13.6-billion (U.S.) - and that it could double if accessibility were improved. In a 2005 study, the organization found that the number of leisure trips in the United States was up 50 per cent over 2002.

Quebec's Kéroul, a non-profit organization dedicated to accessible tourism, says people with disabilities are just as likely to travel as the rest of the population, with more than half of the 4.2 million in Canada taking at least one overnight trip a year.

"It's a normal thing to do for everybody. People with disabilities are the same as everybody else in the sense that it is important for them to experience what this life and this world have to offer, and travel is a big part of that," says Ray Cohen, publisher and editor-in-chief of Abilities Magazine.

But although the "world is in transition," he says, the visually impaired or physically disabled are still encountering problems everywhere from buses to train station washrooms to airplanes. "These are issues that people with disabilities cannot take for granted because it means the difference of being able to go someplace or not."

It certainly hasn't been easy for Rock, who has encountered unsympathetic hoteliers, lost wheelchairs, long waits to disembark from planes and blown tires on the road.

He recalls one trip when he arrived late at his hotel, checked in and went up to his room - only to realize he could not get through the doorway of the washroom. He went back down to the front desk and told the staff the room was not wheelchair-accessible as advertised. They told him that they had had disabled people stay there in the past, "so it's obviously your problem."

"By this time it was midnight. I ended up having to find another hotel," he says.

For most travellers, booking flights, rushing to the airport and getting on a plane with your luggage can be trying, but "if you have a disability, just multiply everything by four or five," says Sandra Carpenter, the acting executive director of the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto. She uses a wheelchair to get around and travels to conferences as part of her job.

Air travel poses one of the biggest hurdles, especially for those who are dependent on a medical assistant for mobility, eating and going to the washroom, or those who are too obese to fit into a standard seat; such passengers must book a second seat - though Air Canada may offer a discounted fare during some flights.

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities argues that having to pay for an extra seat is unfair because it makes travelling by plane prohibitive, with trains, ferries and interprovincial buses already required to allow attendants to travel free.

In 2002, the council launched a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency. "I would love to be able to travel on my own. But [because I have attendants] ... I'm the one that has to bear the cost," says Joanne Neubaur, one of the principal complainants in the case.

Three months ago, the agency ruled that Canada's three major carriers - Air Canada, WestJet and Air Canada Jazz - must provide an additional seat at no cost to people with severe disabilities who require an attendant to help them during a flight and to clinically obese passengers.

But a month later, both Air Canada and WestJet filed for leave to appeal the decision. Richard Bartrem, WestJet's vice-president of culture and communication, says his airline "believes there were errors in law in the decision. It was for those reasons that we launched this."

The Federal Court of Appeal has yet to decide if it will grant the leave to appeal, and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities fears the case will drag on.

"Of course I was very disappointed. I thought it just made sense that they provide this accommodation," says Neubauer, who lives in Victoria and requires attendants because of her rheumatoid arthritis.

EXTRA PLANNING IS KEY

The key to planning a trip with a minimum of snags - and there will always be snags, the well-travelled Rock notes - is to know and communicate your needs and rights.

Experts in the field of accessible travel generally agree that doing all your booking online - especially for a complex trip requiring multiple stops or accommodations - is next to impossible if you have special needs because it may not be possible to make specific requests; it's best to phone the airline or hotel to outline exactly what you are expecting.

Brian Simms, a travel agent with Toronto's Access Holidays, which specializes in accessible travel, says it's important for people to consider all the equipment and medical supplies they will use, as well as their requirements on the plane and in a hotel. For example, a passenger needs to figure out whether they will need to be transported from the gate to their seat via an onboard wheelchair. Will there be room to store crutches? How will they get from the check-in counter to the gate?

Rock says it's also critical to pack necessary medical supplies in a carry-on bag.

And many travellers recommend bringing tools and a manual, as wheelchairs are loaded in the cargo bay and can arrive dismantled or damaged.

Simms says it's also important to have a Plan B in case of a flight delay. "An able-bodied person can say, 'Oh, I'll get on the next flight.' A special needs person can't do that." His company will find an accessible hotel for each leg of the journey - just in case.

In many situations, it's simply a matter of knowing your rights. For example, under the Canada Transportation Act, people in wheelchairs or with other accessibility issues can request that their seat be the most accessible one on the plane - i.e., on the aisle, with a movable armrest - when they book, at no additional cost.

Rock notes that airlines are also required to pre-board passengers with disabilities. But often airlines try to help him to his seat last, he says, adding that it's both "irritating" and embarrassing to be lifted into his seat in front of everyone.

During a flight, crews will help to open a meal tray or transport a passenger to the washroom with an aisle-sized onboard wheelchair, but they are not required to assist a person inside the washroom, so solo passengers are advised to consider using a catheter.

Once you've arrived, it's important to have booked a room that will meet all your requirements.

"First off, when you make a reservation, don't just ask for an 'accessible room,' as they all have different features," says Candy Harrington, editor of Emerging Horizons, a U.S.-based magazine on accessible travel. "If you need a specific access feature, such as a roll-in shower, you have to ask for that. All accessible rooms do not have roll-in showers - some have tubs with grab bars. So terminology is important - describe the features you need."

As well, many hotels - even the larger chains - may not have more than two or three accessible rooms, so booking well in advance is essential.

Rock says he usually finds chain properties such as Hiltons or Sheratons to be the best bet for the first night; once he finds his bearings, he usually searches for a smaller, cheaper option.

People should also carefully consider the type of vacation and location.

"I always start with a cruise," travel agent Simms says, if the person hasn't ventured out much. For one thing, a passenger in a wheelchair can spend a week aboard without much worry because most cruise ships are very well equipped.

Other popular choices are Las Vegas, San Diego, Disney resorts and most major cities in the United States. Travellers such as Rock and Adam Lloyd, who runs the website Gimp on the Go, an online repository of accessible destinations, say it's because the Americans with Disabilities Act has substantially improved accessibility in all corners of that country.

"Most U.S. vacation spots do very well," Lloyd says. Worldwide, he adds, travellers consistently rave about Britain, Australia, Germany, France and some parts of Latin America.

Sadly, Vancouver is the only Canadian city commonly mentioned in terms of accessibility. Pat Danforth of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities says that while Canada was ahead of most countries in that respect in the 1980s, since the U.S. disabilities act came into effect in 1990, this country has fallen far behind because we don't have similar across-the-board regulations.

By doing some online research, however, vacationers can get a good sense of what they will encounter. Websites such as Gimp on the Go have an up-to-date list of accessible hotels, tourist spots and restaurants.

Obviously, the trip should suit the individual, not the wheelchair, Harrington says. "There's a whole world beyond theme parks, and just because you are disabled doesn't mean you are automatically going to like theme parks. If you didn't like them pre-disability, you're not magically going to think they're real cool when you suddenly use a wheelchair."

JUST GO

Toronto's Walt Balenovich, a wheelchair maverick who has written a book about his journeys, Travels in a Blue Chair, excels in choosing adventures far from the tourist traps.

He never books his hotels in advance and is always able to find someone to help him get around. He doesn't even worry about finding an accessible shower - there's always soap, water and a washcloth, he says.

"I travel alone so I have to rely on people to help me," he says. "Who wouldn't help somebody in a wheelchair? It takes five minutes out of your day and you come away from it feeling good."

He says that because he's "looking to rough it," he enjoys staying in hostels, where he meets interesting people and often has a more unique experience.

Even a medical emergency abroad did little to deter him. "I had a bad experience in Zambia where I fell out of the wheelchair and broke my leg." A doctor with a "blurry X-ray machine" slapped a cast on him, and Balenovich continued on his way.

He's proof that experiences are limitless for the traveller with a little chutzpah. He has soaked in the spray of Iguazu Falls in Argentina, visited rice paddies in Indonesia and floated on a catamaran over the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

"I just find a destination. I don't worry about whether the wheelchair is going to be a problem or not. The world is not built with a ramp."

ONLINE HELP

Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality

Council of Canadians with Disabilities

Open Doors Organization

Access-Able Travel Source

Access Holidays

Centre for Independent Living in Toronto

Emerging Horizons

Gimp on the Go

Canadian Transportation Agency

TRAVEL TIPS

Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to research your vacation - some experts recommend spending up to a year if the trip is out of the country, such as a cruise or a safari.

Identify yourself to the airline and/or travel agency as someone with a disability. Under Canadian Transportation Agency guidelines, you are not required to go into detail - simply describe what you need.

Be sure to keep all your medical documentation, wheelchair instructions and medications with you in case of an emergency.

Confirm and reconfirm all your flights, transportation to and from the hotel and any reservations as far in advance as possible, again stating your needs.

Travel during off-hours or off-days to allow more time for yourself and for airline and hotel staff to help you out; ideally, book your flight early in the day in case of delays.

Determine what sort of flight you will need. Planes that carry more than 30 passengers in Canada are required to have an on-board wheelchair that you can use to get to and from the washroom; however, you will not get help in the washroom, so make sure you will be able to manage.

Request the most accessible seat possible - i.e., an aisle seat with an armrest that folds up, preferably close to the washroom.