The accessibility consultation summary report shows strong support for government to develop legislation to make B.C. more inclusive and accessible, says the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.

The public consultation ran from Sept. 16 to Nov. 29, 2019. The province heard that people support developing accessibility legislation as outlined in the Framework for Accessibility Legislation.

Nearly 500 people attended one of the 10 community meetings around the province, while 75 independent community consultations were held and over 50 formal submissions were received. Of the 6,352 people who filled out the online questionnaire, 3,776 identify as having a disability. There were more than 23,000 visits to the accessibility engagement website.

The input and feedback heard will help inform the development of new accessibility legislation, which will complement the federal Accessible Canada Act.

Government will continue to engage with persons with disabilities, local governments, Indigenous peoples and key stakeholder groups and organizations in developing future standards and regulations, the ministry stated.

As of 2017, there are more than 926,000 British Columbians over the age of 15 with some form of disability. This represents almost 25% of the population.

As the population ages, the number of people with disabilities and the severity of their disabilities are likely to increase.

The federal government, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba have accessibility legislation in place.

Lead image from B.C. Government

e-KNOW

Article Share