LETTER

Christmas parade not designed for all

 

In the December 7th Bulletin, my smiling face is posted alongside MP Greg Fergus, as we participated in the Santa Clause Parade, December 3rd. I attended as a delegate of Mr Fergus' constituency youth council.

I am also a wheelchair user. Organizers had set up portable washrooms at several locations -- the Marina, the British and at Place Lavigne. An estimated 25,000 people were there, and of these, about 3,750 could have had a disability (according to statistics). Unfortunately, most portable washrooms were only for non-disabled people (a step up to enter, no grab bars). This excluded 3,750 people from the washrooms.  I was forced into great pain to use the washroom, or wait 2 hours to reach the Galeries Aylmer. Only one of the portables was wheelchair-accessible, and it was impossible to access during the parade (in the courtyard of the Christmas market). I asked volunteers why there were so few accessible washrooms and was told, bluntly, that it hadn't been considered. After  20 years of parades, this is shameful.

I hope the organizing committee thinks about the disabled community next year.

J.  Roy
Aylmer