NB Media Co-op

While New Brunswick is seeing some improvements in accessible public buildings and transportation, Haley Flaro, Executive Director of the Canadian Paraplegic Association (N.B.) says that there's still a great deal of work to do.

New Brunswick is one of the only provinces in Canada without an amendment to the Building Code Act to assure accessibility in all new homes. While this will be remedied next fall, these basic accessibility regulations are only a first step in making our society accessible to everyone regardless of mobility.

One step further in accessibility is known as ‘visitability.’ It’s a term that refers to newly constructed homes with a zero-step entrance; wider doorways; and a half bath on the main floor. These 3 requirements ensure that everyone regardless of mobility can at least visit someone else's home, use the washroom and exit the home.

"In Prince George, B.C. they now have a new Visitability Act in which all new dwellings have to have a zero level entry on their main floor,” says Flaro. “They're doing that because they have excellent city planners [who recognize the benefit of] making sure that homes will be visitable, and that people can age in place."

In contrast, Flaro notes that she knows of one couple who recently moved to New Brunswick from British Columbia who were unable to find a home in Fredericton that could be easily retrofitted to be wheelchair accessible. The couple ended up finding a home in St. Stephen. “I think in 20 years we're going to be kicking ourselves for having been so archaic in our accessibility and barrier-free policies,” says Flaro.

She notes that the arguments for improving accessibility are not limited to moral arguments. "I want people to recognize that it makes good business sense because New Brunswick has the second highest rate of disability in Canada," says Flaro. "Eleven per cent of New Brunswickers have a mobility disability, so if you have an inaccessible business, you're losing potentially 11% of your business plus their friends and family members."

Improving wheelchair accessibility also has benefits for seniors and others with reduced mobility, as well as parents with young children in strollers.

Positive changes are starting to pop up here and there. For many years downtown Fredericton was notoriously inaccessible because of its lack of accessible public washrooms. It meant that people with mobility disabilities could not come downtown to shop or enjoy the various festivals that take place throughout the year. New washroom facilities in Officer's Square have changed that.

New Brunswick cities have also started purchasing low floor accessible buses, but no city has yet to completely convert its bus fleet. This means that while someone with a mobility disability may be able to board one bus, there is no guarantee that they will be able to transfer to another bus. Flaro recommends that municipalities develop a target to have fully accessible transit systems in place by 2020.

She also says that the province needs to establish a government-funded program like Nova Scotia's Community Transportation Assistance Program to not only provide money for equipment and buses, but also to provide some operational funding for a non-profit organization to deliver accessible public transportation, especially in rural areas.

In response to the recommendations of the Disability Action Plan Strategy, the province has stated that while it will continue to provide capital funding for accessible transportation, it will not provide operational funding.