Carleton hosted a youth forum on accessibility issues in Fenn Lounge on Nov. 1, which featured appearances by Carla Qualtrough, the minister of sport and persons with disabilities, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The invitation-only event brought together youth from across the country who are involved in the accessibility community to discuss what the federal government should include in the upcoming Canadians with Disabilities Act.
Deborah Tunis, a former director general of the Office for Disability Issues, said she has been travelling across the country to get input from the public on what the legislation should look like.
She said the youth voice needed to be included.
“There will be public consultations in Ottawa, but it was felt that it was very important to have a youth summit,” Tunis said. “That’s the future.”
Most of the discussion happened in small groups, where people talked about freedom of mobility, barriers within government support resources, and seeking employment.
Quayce Thomas, a sixth-year architecture student at Carleton and participant at the forum, said the main theme of the discussion was making Canada more accessible.
“We brought people from across the country that are experts in their daily lives which, compared to my life, it’s a whole other different way of life, a whole other different set of challenges than I have to think about,” he said. “This was a beautiful way to hear what is important, what do we need to focus on.”
Michael Coady, a law student at Dalhousie University, said in a panel discussion that the law has to be enforced for it to be effective.
“Whatever comes to fruition with the legislation, if it doesn’t have any teeth at the end of the day, it’s not going to be effective,” he said.
Natalie Spagnuolo, a member of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, said during the panel that most barriers disabled people experience are embedded in existing services.
“One complaint we keep hearing is the use of public money to fund barriers and to perpetuate barriers,” she said. “This is something that we need to stop doing.”
Trudeau made a surprise appearance at the forum, and Carleton president Roseann Runte said she only learned he would visit the campus the night before.
“I got to say hello and run up the stairs with him,” she said. “We didn’t exactly have a serious conversation.”
Trudeau’s appearance spread quickly on social media, with students posting photos of the prime minister on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
“They were all screaming and taking selfies,” Runte said. “It was like he was some kind of rock star.”
As she’s travelled across the country, Tunis said she’s surprised by the passion people have for accessibility issues.
“I worked on these issues about 10 years ago, and so I anticipated that people would be somewhat cynical,” she said. “People have busy lives, but they’re making time to come out to these public consultations.”
Public consultations will continue across the country until the end of November. The final public forum will be held at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa on Nov. 30.
A summary of the public consultations will be included in a report published in the spring, according to Tunis. She said Qualtrough hopes to have potential legislation tabled in the House of Commons by next winter.
