Click&Push Accessibility Inc.

We weren't welcome to attend the grand opening event of the @CityofEdmonton's new dog park today! Why? The event, hosted by city councilor @michaeljanz was not accessible with a wheelchair. The public and their dogs were invited to join him, along with MP @HMcPhersonMP to come out and make friends and have treats. The issue was a significant drop from the concrete at the entrance that would result in landing in soft dirt. It was a barrier that could have been safely mitigated with a proper temporary ramp, like the yellow ones the city uses in other areas. It seems the bigger issue is that nobody took time to identify and address barriers before today's event. This should be a normal part of planning public events to ensure they are inclusive. Event organizers should have simply made arrangements for a proper ramp. The city also has an accessibility policy that is supposed to prevent these types of problems. It seems that policy needs to be reviewed. Some of the attendees said the dog park project was delayed and more work needs to be done. I totally understand delays, but that doesn't justify exclusion. The event could have been rescheduled for when the City's access standards were met if the organizers weren't willing to get safe ramps. A few attendees suggested having people lift the wheelchair in and out of the dog park. Though these suggestions come from a place of trying to help, they aren't solutions. Not only is this unsafe, it's a really dehumanizing experience. Someone else wanted to find a sheet of plywood. Again, this is a safety issue. Most power wheelchairs weigh between 350 and 450 pounds. While it's possible to construct good, safe wooden ramps, improvising with spare material isn't wise. The really disheartening part is that many attendees seemed to view it as normal and acceptable that we couldn't enter a public dog park or participate in a public event. The city Councilor and MP didn't even attempt to come discuss the issue. This is why we need allies to speak up against exclusion and discrimination. It's why we need leaders that won't just toss out words like inclusion and then stand there and let things like this happen. And they happen a lot. There's many public events we can't easily access. In fact, we've been butting heads with our city councilor recently because he frequently has presentations and events in inaccessible places. Even though access is a human right, we can't seem to convince him to make it a priority or get him to understand that as a community leader, this perpetuates discrimination. The funny (not funny haha) thing is this was supposed to be an event that we could go to without having to ask or even beg for access. And still we couldn't. Not everyone will care. That's OK. Some people have deeper systemic beliefs than others. But if the people whose values center around inclusion start speaking up, start pointing out barriers and discrimination, it will make a difference. You can make your communities more inclusive places, places where everyone can fit. You have the power to make that change. Thank you to everyone who does. And City of Edmonton, you owe Chesnyy a treat. #InclusionMatters #Yeg #Accessibility