Paul Vienneau is getting tired off using back doors at City Hall and Province House. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and make a statement I haven’t heard anyone make before: The front entrances of Halifax City Hall and of the Legislature should be modified to include ramps,” he writes.
“…we have to fight our own battles. The government would still be gleefully discriminating against us if we didn’t sue them,” writes disability activist Paul Vienneau.
Almost two years after a judge ordered the NS Human Rights Commission to change its intake process we still don’t know what those changes look like.
The results of the 2018 Statistics Canada disabilities survey are in. More than in any other province people in Nova Scotia self-identify as disabled in some shape or form, and that’s not just because we have a large share of older people, as is so often assumed.
On the International Day for Persons with a Disability Paul Vienneau takes stock. Some progress, especially in the crafting of Bill 59, and a long way to go, he writes. “It’s as if the government thinks the work is done now. But change doesn’t come from from legislation. The legislation is merely the starting point.”
Martyn Williams continues his common sense campaign to increase safety for pedestrians, wheelchair users and cyclists. “Road users need infrastructure which does not let them down and allows them to complete their journeys safely and without injury to themselves and others. With the rate of incidents we have on our roads per day, we need the budget and will to make that happen now.”
This weekend’s weekend video features Halifax musician, photographer, stalwart activist and Nova Scotia Advocate author Paul Vienneau as he hands out bottled water on a hot Spring Garden day. ““This helped me see that giving away water has become part of what I am doing with my life. It’s an antidepressant in 24 little plastic bottles.”
In Nova Scotia pedestrians and cyclists are particularly vulnerable to accidents. It doesn’t need to be that way, writes Martyn Williams. There are things we can do beyond increasing some fines, other countries have done so, and it is paying off.
Paul Vienneau is one of the accessibility advocates who successfully challenged the government’s refusal to enforce health and safety regulations when it comes to accessible washrooms. After a long battle with the Human Rights Commission there finally was a human rights tribunal, and in September they won their case. Just this Friday the government announced that it accepts the decision. Paul is NOT impressed.
There are two accessible parking spots along the Harbourwalk South, where you will find the NSCAD Port Campus, the Nova Scotia Centre for Crafts and Design, the Mary E. Black Gallery, and more. Unless the cruise ships are in town, that is. That’s when the Halifax Port Authority shuts the spots down.