Special Needs Advisory Committee Seeks Bylaw Wording Update

By Robert Thomas

The Special Needs Bylaw is about to get much needed tender loving care and updates after Council agreed to that committee’s request to do so.

Speaking at Council committee member Councillor Jamey Logan said the committee would like to have the bylaw reviewed “in order to update the name and language of the Bylaw. In order to focus on improving accessibility and inclusion for all residents including those with disabilities.”

Councillor Logan told Council it was “a fairly dated Bylaw and some of the language is almost offensive and it excludes people around the City who could perhaps lean on this Bylaw.”

The changes would be a modernization of the Bylaw, he said.

An example of a physical barrier to accessibility is snow piled in a designated Disability parking spot - MJ Independent photo

In an email response to questions about why the need and what the changes were being asked for Special Needs Advisory Committee chair Mike Bachiu said the changes the Committee were seeking were two-fold.

“Primarily, we're hoping to have the term "special needs" changed to something more contemporary. Many people living with disabilities find the label "special needs" to be derogatory or denigrating,” Bachiu wrote.

About inclusivity Bachiu wrote there are many others in the community who benefit from accessibility efforts for people with disabilities.

“Secondly, many of the issues our committee reviews and makes recommendations on are accessibility issues. Accessibility is universal and doesn't have to be tied to any sort of disability. A mom pushing a stroller or a delivery driver unloading with a dolly all face those same accessibility challenges, so we're hoping that would be updated in the bylaw review,” he wrote.