Canada’s chief accessibility officer is taking airlines to task for failing to treat wheelchair users with respect after Air Canada forgot last week to bring her wheelchair on a cross-country flight.
Stephanie Cadieux said that when she flew from Toronto to Vancouver on Friday, she discovered that her wheelchair had been left behind.
She posted about the incident on X, formerly Twitter. Her posting received overwhelming support — almost 650 retweets and more than 2,500 likes.
“This was immensely frustrating and dehumanizing — and I was furious,” she later said in a post on her LinkedIn account. “The tweet has been widely viewed and shared. Air Canada responded and my chair has been returned to me.”
A statement from Air Canada said the chair was returned Saturday morning.
Cadieux said that while her chair was swiftly and safely returned to her by the airline, her “job title as chief accessibility officer should not influence the experience” she has when she flies.
Well. <a href=”https://twitter.com/AirCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@AirCanada</a> left my chair in Toronto. I’m now without my essential equipment. Independence taken away. I’m furious. Unacceptable. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/RightsOnFlights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#RightsOnFlights</a> <a href=”https://t.co/h1WPUwlgxw”>pic.twitter.com/h1WPUwlgxw</a>
“While I’m glad I’ve been able to draw attention to this issue, I don’t want the continued focus to be on my experience,” she said.
“Not surprisingly to me, many of the responses to my tweet were from people sharing that the same thing had happened to them, with no quick resolution.”
Cadieux said everyone who uses an airline should get the same level of service, regardless of job title.
Airlines have to do better: Cadieux
Cadieux said she travels a lot for work and over the past year her wheelchair has been damaged in transit several times.
“I’ve heard and continue to hear countless stories about lost or severely damaged chairs and enough is enough,” she said.
Cadieux said airlines do not provide appropriate care and attention to essential equipment like wheelchairs, and leave disabled travellers to fight alone when things go wrong.
“I want everyone to understand that when a person’s wheelchair is lost, so is their independence, safety, mobility and dignity,” she said. “Airlines have to take responsibility and they have to do better.”
Federal Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities Kamal Khera said on social media the situation “is completely unacceptable.”
“Persons with disabilities deserve equal rights and access while boarding planes or using public transit,” she said.
An Air Canada statement emailed to CBC News said the airline has apologized to Cadieux and the company recognizes “mobility devices are vital to their users”
Air Canada says it’s working to improve accessibility
“As part of our investigation into how this serious service lapse occurred, we are also looking for additional measures we can implement to prevent such situations in the future,” the statement said.
The statement said the airline carries more than 700,000 travellers requiring wheelchairs or mobility devices in a normal year and “the vast, vast majority … travelled without issue.”
The airline said that in the summer, it began rolling out a three-year accessibility plan for customers and employees. Under the plan, the airline is creating an advisory panel of customers with disabilities and is purchasing equipment to improve accessibility.
“We know, particularly as technology and societal expectations change, that our policies must continually evolve and we are fully committed to further refining our approach, including through training, to better support customers requiring mobility assistance and to increase accessibility,” the airline said.
Tim Houston, who is seeking a second term as Nova Scotia premier, said he had no plans to invite Poilievre to join him on the campaign ahead of the Nov. 26 provincial election. He explained the provincial Progressive Conservatives have no formal ties with the Tories in Ottawa — and he made a point of saying he is not a member of the federal party. Experts say it also is because the latest polls suggest Atlantic Canadians have not warmed to Poilievre. (Nov. 5, 2024)
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — It has been a rough few days for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. First, his 19th-ranked Tigers lost to Louisville on Saturday night, then he was told he couldn’t vote Tuesday at his polling place.
Swinney, whose given name is William, explained that the voting system had locked him out, saying a “William Swinney” had already voted last week. Swinney said it was his oldest son, Will, and not him.
“They done voted me out of the state,” Swinney said. “We’re 6-2 and 5-1 (in the Atlantic Coast Conference), man. They done shipped me off.”
Dabo Swinney had to complete a paper ballot and was told there will be a hearing on Friday to resolve the issue.
“I was trying to do my best and be a good citizen and go vote,” he said. “Sometimes doing your best ain’t good enough. You have to keep going though, keep figuring it out.”
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EDMONTON – The judge leading a fatality inquiry into the knockout death of a boxer is recommending changes to how the sport is regulated and how head injuries are monitored.
Timothy Hague, who was 34, competed in a boxing match licensed by the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission in June 2017 when his opponent, Adam Braidwood, knocked him unconscious.
Hague came to and was able to walk to the dressing room, where he vomited, and was then taken to hospital where he underwent surgery for a large brain bleed.
His condition did not improve, care was withdrawn and Hague died two days after the fight.
Justice Carrie Sharpe with Alberta’s provincial court made 14 recommendations, including that combat sports be overseen by a provincial authority instead of a patchwork of municipal bodies and that there be concussion spotters at every event.
She also recommends that if a fighter receives a blow to the head in a technical knockout, they must provide a brain scan to prove they are fit to compete again.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
