Many Canadians fear accessibility issues will worsen, survey shows

Two-thirds of Canadians are anxious about developing disabilities and challenges in the next decade that will affect where they live, shop and go for any reason, and about a quarter of Canadians say they already have mobility, vision or hearing challenges, according to a survey to be released today by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

The survey of 1,800 Canadians was conducted and sponsored by the Angus Reid Institute and focused on the perspectives and concerns of individuals regarding disabilities, mobilization and accessibility.

Hansen said it is striking that about a quarter of Canadians said they had mobility, vision or hearing issues and nearly half of survey respondents said they spend time with individuals dealing with such concerns.

Already, nearly a third of people say accessibility is a consideration when they think about where they go out. And a third of people said their own homes are not accessible to those with mobility, hearing or vision challenges.

About 70 per cent of survey respondents said Canada should have universal accessibility standards for newly constructed buildings and homes.

Hansen said a “new, standard playbook” is overdue for consistency in accessibility building codes across Canada.

In late 2017, the provincial government awarded the Rick Hansen Foundation a multi-year $9-million grant to help remove physical barriers and realize the goal of universal access for those with disabilities. The grant enabled the foundation to develop an accessibility certification service, a LEED-style system to rate accessibility in multi-family residential homes, retail stores, businesses and institutional buildings where people work, study, and pursue a variety of activities.

The foundation also used some of the grant to establish a partnership with Vancouver Community College to train people to analyze and rate buildings for overall accessibility.

After the course, the graduates (more than 70 so far) must write a formal exam through the Canadian Standards Association.

Besides developing the curriculum, the grant enabled free accessibility ratings for 1,100 buildings across B.C. and, in a further incentive, also allowed organizations seeking such ratings to apply for grants of up to $20,000 to use toward improvements such as automatic doors, ramps, and other necessary features.

The B.C. Institute of Technology was an early subscriber to the program and the Vancouver airport earned an Accessibility Certified Gold rating, for features such as counters with heights that are appropriate for those using wheelchairs, curbside ramps and numerous other features.