Barrier Free Manitoba

(Letter to the Editor in February 2 Edition of the Winnipeg Free Press)

As we celebrate 100 years since women in Manitoba won the right to vote, and as we approach the provincial election, we feel it's important to note people with disabilities were left far behind other groups in gaining the right to vote in Canada and Manitoba. It wasn't until 77 years later, in 1993, that people with intellectual disabilities secured the right to vote after changes to the Canada Elections Act following a Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge in 1988.

Although the right for people with intellectual disabilities has been secured, many are still waiting for fulfilment of that right. According to Electoral Insight April 2004 (an Elections Canada publication), the process of securing full access to the right to vote is ongoing and unfinished.

Although there has been some progress toward accessibility and inclusion, people with disabilities face difficulty when engaging with our democratic institutions and processes. The sheer lack of policy and accountability means, for instance, even our provincial legislature is not accessible.

In that same vein, we pay lip service to equality, and while Elections Manitoba and Elections Canada are working to make voting accessible, without any hard and fast regulations imposed on candidates and parties, election information, materials, meetings and debates are still mostly inaccessible to many people with disabilities.

Excluding people with disabilities from the election process makes it very challenging for individuals to make an educated and informed vote. It also sends a strong message their vote is not important or valued.

Disability Matters: Vote 2016 [DMV2016] is working hard to help candidates make their meetings and information accessible, to support people with disabilities to access the information they need to make informed voting decisions and to identify priority issues for all peoples with disabilities.

Malinda Roberts and Allen Mankewich
Spokespersons, Disability Matters: Vote 2016

Get involved with DMV2016 today: http://www.disabilitymatters2016.ca