{"id":68592,"date":"2016-01-10T20:44:35","date_gmt":"2016-01-11T01:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=68592"},"modified":"2016-01-10T20:44:35","modified_gmt":"2016-01-11T01:44:35","slug":"manitoba-legislature-eyes-major-renovations-to-accommodate-disabled-politicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2016\/01\/10\/manitoba-legislature-eyes-major-renovations-to-accommodate-disabled-politicians\/","title":{"rendered":"Manitoba legislature eyes major renovations to accommodate disabled politicians"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Steven<\/a>
Steven Fletcher, former member of the Parliament and a quadriplegic.
(Photo courtesy of Fletcher’s official Twitter account<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WINNIPEG\u2014Former member of Parliament Steven Fletcher might soon win a seat in the Manitoba legislature, but there’s currently no way for the quadriplegic politician to get to the chairs inside the chamber.<\/p>\n

The government is in the middle of a long-term plan to improve accessibility to the 96-year-old building and has made major improvements for visitors. But inside the chamber, not much has changed.<\/p>\n

Even getting there has proven difficult for Fletcher on occasions when he represented the federal government during his 12 years as a Parliamentarian.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe elevators are a few inches too small, at least,\u201d said Fletcher, who recalled that his assistant had to take down foot supports on Fletcher’s motorized wheelchair so he could fit inside a lift to the second floor where the chamber is.<\/p>\n

Once inside, Fletcher was \u201crelegated to the very back\u201d because there are stairs between the doors and every chair.<\/p>\n

That will change, said Chris Hauch, an assistant deputy minister in charge of accommodation services.<\/p>\n

The government is looking at long-term alterations, but also short-term fixes that will be in place right after the April 19 provincial election in which Fletcher is running. One challenge, Hauch said, is the legislature is classified as a heritage building and changes are not supposed to deter from its historical appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe value heritage and accessibility,\u201d Hauch said. \u201cIt’s going to be a creative process figuring out how to meet both agendas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planning has been underway for more than a year\u2014long before Fletcher declared his intention to run for provincial office. The government has brought in advisers from the disabled community and from Winnipeg city hall to help.<\/p>\n

Speaker Daryl Reid said he is committed to ensuring politicians with any disability can do their work. Ramps could be installed, although finding an area without a steep slope is a challenge. A motorized lift is another option, although that could require cutting into some of the chamber’s marble and need approval from the Heritage Department.<\/p>\n

The government has faced this dilemma before. For decades, people in wheelchairs had to enter the building through a side door because the main entrance was atop a long staircase. In 2007, a large ramp was built in front of the main entrance with lighting, rails and heated concrete.<\/p>\n

The ramp got approval from heritage officials because, in part, it used the same Tyndall stone as the legislature.<\/p>\n

Fletcher points to the ramp as an example for other heritage buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the lesson is, when we’re building new buildings, to make them accessible at least in part, right from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fletcher will carry the Progressive Conservative banner in the suburban Winnipeg constituency of Assiniboia.<\/p>\n

The seat used to be a Tory stronghold, but has been held by New Democrat Jim Rondeau since 1999. Rondeau is not running for re-election and the Tories are hoping to retake it.<\/p>\n

Fletcher will face NDP candidate Joe McKellep, a longtime civil servant and former RCMP auxiliary constable; Liberal Ian McCausland, a small-business owner and photographer; and the Green Party’s John Reddekop, who works for a non-profit agency.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WINNIPEG\u2014Former member of Parliament Steven Fletcher might soon win a seat in the Manitoba legislature, but there’s currently no way …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":68597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,16],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-68592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-ca","category-news","tag-original","mauthors-steve-lambert","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}