Rights challenge targets bathrooms

H A L I FA X • Several people with physical disabilities will argue at a human rights hearing that the Nova Scotia government has effectively discriminated against them by failing to enforce a regulation that requires restaurants to have accessible bathrooms.

The five complainants will challenge the province’s Department of Environment at a Human Rights Commission board of inquiry Thursday, saying the language in the regulation is vague and does not take the experiences of people with disabilities into account.

“We’re only asking for the government to have a public health standard that applies to everybody — not just people who don’t use wheelchairs,” said Warren Reed, one of the complainants.

Under Nova Scotia’s Health Protection Act, food establishments must have washrooms available for the public in a “convenient location.”

But Reed said some establishments have washrooms up or down a set of stairs in a building that doesn’t have an elevator, while others may have doors that are difficult to open or stalls that aren’t wide enough.

When asked to clarify what a “convenient location” means in the context of the washroom regulation, Environment spokeswoman Rachel Boomer said in an email the interpretation of the term is up to the Human Rights Commission to decide.

“Government recognizes the importance of accessibility,” she added.

The Accessibility Act was passed in April of last year, making Nova Scotia the third province to pass such legislation.

A committee is working to develop a set of standards for the province to implement by 2030.

The plan is due be released in September.

Paul Vienneau, another complainant in the case, says it’s a basic human right to be able to wash your hands before eating, or to use the bathroom while at a restaurant.

Vienneau, who has been in a wheelchair for almost 30 years, has a compromised immune system and describes himself as a “fanatical Purell user.”

“When you’re in a wheelchair — a manual wheelchair specifically — your hands come in contact with your wheels thousands of times during the day,” he said.

“Everything that’s on the street ends up on your wheels, then on your hands.”