Disability discrimination is still common in Canada

Imagine this: You go to the movies and, while there, you see a person in a wheelchair.
You've paid for your ticket and you have a right to not be disturbed. We know that if that person was to take a call on their cell phone or rattle a bag of chips, you might be annoyed because they're interfering with your enjoyment of this movie.
But did you know, (or even stop to consider) that this person in a wheelchair like you, also has rights, and is being discriminated against right here and now? They may even be putting their life in danger just by being there in that theatre.
The person in a wheelchair is usually expected to sit in one spot in the theatre, probably with other people in wheelchairs, as this is the "accessible area" set aside for them. If the theatre has been accessed by a lift, what happens to this person in a chair if someone screams "Fire!"? Who is coming to save that person before they're overcome with smoke? What is the emergency plan?
Would those of us who are able-bodied accept it if we were told that you could only sit in a choice of one seat? What about if you had to wait for a member of staff to assist you to access the building each time you went to the movies? How would you feel if, when you approached the counter to buy your ticket, the counter was so high it made you feel as if you were one-metre tall?
Feel like a drink or some munchies? Well, you should find someone who will go and get them for you then, because you will see that a theatre snack area is inaccessible in many movie theatres too.
Now consider this: the person in the wheelchair has paid the same price for their ticket as everyone else has for theirs, and they have the same rights as every other person under the Human Rights Legislation. The difference is, perhaps not all people with disabilities have the same ability and drive it takes to speak up for themselves. More likely, it is the people behind the counter who have very little idea on how to serve someone who is supposedly "different".
People with disabilities have also, in one way or another, paid their taxes that fund the infrastructure in which we all live. That is, the parking spots, the sidewalks, the ramps etc and yet, daily, our environment continues to be built like a jail around them and still few are aware, let alone speaking up for change
Consider also that, on your outing to the movies, if you went to dinner or shopping beforehand. Unlike you, the person in a wheelchair would have had limited choices about where they were able to go due to inequitable access.
Try and visit some restaurants and stores and maneuver a wheelchair or scooter, soon you will see how small the world is for them.
I'm using the example of a person in a wheelchair to denote "disabilities" here as most of us think of a wheelchair when we see the word "disabled".
But let's also spare a thought for those among us who live with other disabilities such as different kinds of mobility impairments, hearing or vision loss or mental issues. The same idea applies; it is in fact the environmental barriers and attitudinal barriers that make the disability, until we start to accept that difference is part of the "life condition", almost 15 per cent of our population will be excluded from full participation.
We, all of us, are letting this discrimination happen. This is due largely to the fact that we are uneducated on this subject and, because of our lack of knowledge we tolerate these problems mostly out of ignorance. It is now our responsibility to start to open our eyes to the problems and to participate as citizens to remove barriers.
Joe Henry is the Brock University Accessibility Coordinator he can be reached at joe.henry@brocku.ca or by visiting room 1102 in the Schmon Tower.