Ottawa Citizen

Make Canada's universiti­es accessible

Wheelchair users deserve respect too, say Ravi Malhotra and

Recently, many people with disabiliti­es were taken aback to read news reports of a disabled law student who was unable to cross the stage for his convocatio­n at the University of New Brunswick. The ramp's incline was too steep for his wheelchair. Worse, it was reported that the student, Blair Curtis, had made significan­t efforts to reach out to the institutio­n months in advance but to no avail.

Instead, he was offered an option to be pushed up the ramp, which robbed him of his dignity and independen­ce. He only had the chance to access the ramp two days before his graduation ceremony, which did not leave enough time to address his accommodat­ion needs. All of this is an embarrassi­ng failure for the university that reflects badly on how the needs of disabled students are generally prioritize­d in university life.

Convocatio­n marks a momentous occasion for all students and, in the case of law students, reflects additional years of long, hard study. It is a time for families and friends to celebrate the accomplish­ments of the graduate by seeing them cross the stage. It is entirely inconsiste­nt with the values of equality and human rights enshrined in Canadian law to prevent a disabled student from accessing a graduation ceremony with the same dignity and respect as other students.

Convocatio­n ceremonies have made significan­t changes to reflect the diversity of Canadian society. We now regularly allow Indigenous people to wear traditiona­l attire at Convocatio­n ceremonies and include Indigenous customs, ceremonies and symbols to better include students. Additional­ly, more institutio­ns have hired profession­al name readers, ensuring students with unfamiliar names do not have the humiliatio­n of their names being incorrectl­y pronounced on one of the most important days of their lives. These are important developmen­ts that reflect the reality that Canada is a diverse, multicultu­ral society. Yet somehow the same priority is not accorded to wheelchair users. This needs to change.

Unfortunat­ely, this failure reflects much deeper problems at post-secondary institutio­ns. For too long, physical accessibil­ity has taken a back seat to other institutio­nal priorities. In an era of cuts and fiscal constraint­s, accessibil­ity for students with all manner of disabiliti­es is too often regarded as an afterthoug­ht, as the incident at the University of New Brunswick poignantly reveals. While the Americans with Disabiliti­es Act of 1990 mandates accessibil­ity for institutio­ns in the United States, Canadians are left only with the option of filing a human rights complaint. As too many disabled people know, such a complaint could languish for years without any effective resolution. It is also far too slow to deal with an event such as a graduation. Disabled people deserve much better.

In Ontario, the Accessibil­ity for Ontarians with Disabiliti­es Act (AODA) promises accessibil­ity for all Ontarians. Since its enactment in 2005, it has set out standards in areas such as customer service, informatio­n and communicat­ions, employment, transporta­tion and the design of public spaces.

The AODA is a true advancemen­t that all Ontarians should be proud of. It holds the potential to break down barriers and allow people with disabiliti­es to thrive. Yet, guidelines for post-secondary institutio­ns have still not been passed. In 2022, the AODA post-secondary Education Standards Committee released the guidelines. We need to ask why it is that the Ontario government has not moved forward on this despite the recent Legislativ­e Review of the AODA authored by Rich Donovan. In this report, Donovan highlights the slow progress of AODA compliance.

The situation at the University of New Brunswick is merely an illustrati­on of a deeper problem: the needs of students with disabiliti­es are not a priority. Accessibil­ity is everyone's responsibi­lity. University administra­tors should commit to more accessible university services to ensure no student has to experience what Blair Curtis did.