Vancouver’s Curb Cuts – Nothing to Brag About.

“You know, that might be the answer – to act boastfully about something we ought to be ashamed of. That’s a trick that never seems to fail.” – Joseph Heller, Catch-22   “The calculated simulated of enthusiasm…is also common within contemporary culture. In a variety of configurations, the applause sign has become a social principle.” Stuart McEwan,…

Curiosity: Vancouver’s Straw Ban – Another Barrier and Another Excuse For Non-Disabled People to Shame, Marginalize, Interrogate and Demonstrate They Don’t Care About Discrimination Against Disabled People

  On May 16, 2018, the City of Vancouver, BC voted unanimously to proceed with a ban on single-use plastic straws. They did so despite the fact they are necessary for some disabled people and that alternatives (metal, paper, bamboo…) are not suitable for different reasons for different disabled people.   The City had originally…

Would More Time Have Made Bruce Pardy’s National Post Piece Against Accommodations For Disabled Students Any Less Awful?

On August 17, 2017, a few weeks before thousands of university students will head off to class, the National Post ran an opinion piece by Queen’s University Professor of Law, Bruce Pardy under the headline “Mental disabilities shouldn’t be accommodated with extra time on exams.”  Both the content and the context of this badly argued…

Time For A New Approach to Disability Policy in BC – Part One – Why

This is the first in a series about disability policy in BC. Part one is intended to deal with why we need a dramatic shift in approach.     We have a new provincial government in British Columbia. Will it offer us a new approach to disability policy? If so, what should it be? In…

CITY OF NEW WESTMINSTER, BC ANNOUNCES EXCITING NEW SERVICE DESIGNED TO EXCLUDE, MARGINALIZE AND DISCRIMINATE AGAINST DISABLED PEOPLE. Excited?

This is the sign you hang on your window when you design to exclude. Inaccessibility is discrimination.