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.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
