Real, universal access would benefit all society

First published in Hamilton Spectator June 18, 2000

The old clock goes off; the radio reports the QEW is a mess. Springing out of the shower, your eyes open wide. You remember that you have to go out of town today and return later for a meeting. Hopping in our cars, we meet thousands of other cars hitting the asphalt as we commute. The hectic lifestyle of this modern age demands a barrier-free environment, one into which we can pack anything and everything. We need to accomplish, to get things done and there is no time to waste on barriers. Our expectation is that there will be easy access to our communities. We move through each day not noticing the sidewalk configurations, the ramps that we use without a thought, those electric doors that we walk through and the list goes on and on.

Do you consider access to your community, your world, to be a right, a privilege or just a given? Have you ever stopped and reflected on how hard life would be without the physical and mental super highways that we have grown accustomed to? The microchip has transformed the world, cell phones are hanging off of our ears, snail mail really is snail mail, email me and we will talk. We live on the fast track where access is an absolute must.

The story is very different for persons with disabilities who wish to be integrated into their communities. When we talk about access, we are talking about the access to education, employment, housing, transportation, financial support, health care, recreation, communication and the support to live as independently as possible for the 1.5 million people with disabilities in Ontario. They, like you, need to be participants in every aspect of society. Access is the key that can open up countless locked doors, allowing hope and self-worth to develop to its fullest.

There are universal basic rights that permeate our western culture. We are blessed to live with these rights and privileges which most of us take for granted. Too often we do an inadequate job of providing these same rights and privileges to the less fortunate members of society - the mentally ill, the homeless, the severely-disabled, the frail, the elderly, etc., into the mainstream of community life. They are a scary reminder that your life can be transformed in a fleeting moment. In a real sense we want to box in these feelings and lock them away. We fear the unknown - "How do I even react to that person?", "I don't know what to do to help" and so on. It is critical that we orchestrate and develop a barrier-free environment on an ongoing basis because our quality of life is so uncertain This means that as a society, we must make every effort to provide access in terms of inclusion and integration for all our citizens.

On a governing level, creating a healthy barrier-free world here in Ontario and in Canada is the way to go. We must do it for us - all Canadians so we may each benefit from advances in health, social resources, the economy and employment opportunities. When you have access to the world, this is when hopes and dreams come alive. Universal access enables individuals to feel more significant and ready to give back to their own community, sharing their talents and gifts with gainful employment or volunteering. On the other hand, when we don't provide this barrier-free or what I like to call a healthy friendly growing environment then we are creating more social and health problems through ignorance and avoidance of the issues. This state would produce many individuals with very low self-esteem and not at all conducive to the person or the community at large.

Let's get down to the bottom line. We are a nation blessed by the Lord and have no choice but to do the correct thing. Let's create a friendly healthy community environment and a province/country that provides access through inclusion and integration to all its members. We will reap great plusses and be stronger for this course of action.