Sam's Law – Breaking Down Transportation Barriers Affecting Canadians With Disabilities
On Wednesday, June 02, 2010, a Winnipeg High School student was given the unique opportunity of seeing a Private Members bill he crafted, presented by Pat Martin, NDP MP Winnipeg Centre, to the Canadian Parliament. “Sam’s Law,” as it was titled on the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press, calls for an accessibility audit to be done of all federally regulated transport systems in Canada to identify barriers faced by the disabled while traveling in Canada.
Nations such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, already have legislation in place barring discrimination against the disabled. In Canada, however, there is a voluntary system. Therefore, each perceived instance of discrimination must be addressed on an individual basis before the courts to see if a violation of Human Rights has occurred.
Sam Unrau, already active as a member of the City of Winnipeg’s Access Advisory Committee, was given the opportunity to draft his Private Member’s bill as a result of a contest called “Create Your Canada” sponsored by the NDP in Winnipeg Centre. When deciding on the focus of his bill, Sam wanted to address issues affecting the disabled community at the federal level. Inspiration for this issue came from the tales told by his peers of undue barriers they often faced.
Sam also gives credit to the Council of Canadians with Disabilities for providing him with “a whole wackload” of issues faced by the disabled in Canada and plenty of research to give credibility to this issue.
The Private Member’s bill form will provide Bill C-523, An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (accessibility in transportation), with many benefits:
- It provides a tool by which cross-country support can be gathered.
- It is capable of garnering cross party support.
- It doesn’t die if Parliament is prorogued.
Basically, proroguing Parliament means that a session of Parliament is adjourned or ceases to sit. When the session commences once again, any unpassed bills or motions from the original session cease to exist, opening up the opportunity to resubmit controversial bills in a new form, which may be more acceptable and less controversial.
Sam was asked during an interview for Primetime Politics on CPAC, why an audit, why not just copy the legislation from other countries?
In answer, Sam explained that here in Canada, we may have challenges that are unique, such as our climate. “You can always copy and paste other legislation, but you want to make sure this one will fit with Canada and be great for all Canadians,” says Sam.
Now that Bill C-523 has been tabled in Parliament and given first reading, it may be several months before Mr. Martin is given the opportunity to raise it once again for debate. However, the issues this bill represents have now been brought to the attention of the Canadian public and have also gained the attention of John Baird, the Minister of Transportation, which, in light of the Minister’s busy schedule, is in and of itself a significant achievement.
As mentioned by Pat Martin in the CPAC interview, “We are kind of using it as a tool to, a stepping stone to take the issue from a problem to an analysis of the problem, and hopefully regulatory change ultimately.”
Activism can only go so far at the local level. It is when these issues are elevated to the federal arena that the opportunity for regulatory change is made possible that will benefit all Canadians and open the door for positive change at both the federal and local levels. The disabled community of Canada will be watching the progress of “Sam’s Law” closely in the months to follow.
Sources: The Winnipeg Free Press, CPAC – The Cable Public Affairs Channel, Power Play on CTV, NDP Press Releases, TheStar.com, OpenParliament.ca
Warmest regards,
SherryD
