My experience in Canada
How can you enable yourself in an inaccessible place?
Many people tells me I have an "advocate eye" where ever I go I find a reason to have a "voice" to speak out, my parents often try to get me to stay quiet when we encounter with an issue that they know I am passionate about, I explain to them that we must not only be seeing rolling in a wheelchair, walker, cane etc but our voice must be heard. This past weekend I traveled to Toronto, Canada to spend time with family for their Thanksgiving holiday but I also went there with an advocate eye because every year I travel to Canada and been wondering why I don't see such an high population of children and young adults with disabilities exposed in Canada I wonder if their put in homes or Institution like Willbrook "I hope not. Not only did I go there with an advocate eye but I encountered with accessibility issue at the Burger King. I also met with another individual who is a wheelchair user as well. When I went to eat lunch with my sister, mom and dad we had an accessible parking space but there were no flat surface for my wheelchair to get above the ground so my dad had to lift my manual wheelchair up from the street parking lot on to the sidewalk then we entered the restaurant to later noticed their were no assigned wheelchair seating area, me and the another customer who utilized a motorized wheelchair had no choice but to sit at the edges of the tables in between walls and the walkway so we decided that we are not going to keep moving for abled body customers they will just have to walk around the other side, when my mom questioned the manger on why they are not accessible she came up with excuses saying "they can't do anything about". We even ask the customer who is a wheelchair user about accessibility issues and the population of people with disabilities in Canada to make sure I am not the only one just seeing these things as issue in my eyes and so passionate to make a difference, they responded I am tired of fighting my mom who is a strong advocate for these issues as well she told the customer "Keep fighting if not who will" and I handed her my business card. Until this day I wonder how that customer who uses a wheelchair for mobility entered and exit the restaurant because according to my view they were no flat platform. Later this week on social media there was a pictured post that was shared on one of my group page member share an status from a Facebook user that she received a phone call from her husband asking her to pick him up at the airport. She states that she was confused because her husband was supposed to be on a plane flying out of Rochester for a conference in Vancouver Instead Air Canada refuse to let him board because he is quadriplegic and is unable to walk and made up several excuses on why you can't board, neither of these excuses made sense to me because he has Traveled all over the world even recently to Africa and did indicated on his ticket that he was a wheelchair user that’s what caught my eye in this story that something is wrong, because I know customers who are wheelchair users probably pay more for their plane ticket just to have that accommodation, that’s total discrimination and a shame on Air Canada but from my experience this past weekend it doesn't surprise me with their reaction towards an passenger who is an wheelchair, their expression can tell me that they employees have the mindset that people who uses a wheelchair for mobility are not able enough to travel on their own not only people who have disabilities minds are affected. Air Canada I hope you change your employees perceptions and make it right next time we earn the American Disability Act law 25 years ago, we recently celebrated history of the ADA law but look how far we have come with so much to be done. Canada government, business, restaurants etc let your individuals with disabilities be counted for.
