For Randy Dickinson his visit to the Elections New Brunswick returning office on Prospect Street last week was a special occasion and surely a reason to smile as he could see the construction on a ramp for the front entrance of the Fredericton West–Hanwell returning office underway.
“I’m really happy now. The other day I felt like I was punched in the stomach as a second class citizen,” he was quoted as saying in a news report by CBC.
Dickinson is the chair of the Premier’s Council on Disabilities and a past chair of the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission.
He says when he arrived at the returning office on Tuesday, he found a front entrance with five steps, but no wheelchair ramp. He posted a photo on social media and contacted Elections New Brunswick.
Elections New Brunswick spokesperson Paul Harpelle attempted to solve the problem by providing people with disabilities access to a side door at the building.
“The building already had an existing wheelchair–accessible entrance, so the landlord had a door installed that now provides access to our returning office. It had been blocked off when Horizon Health took over a portion of the building,” Harpelle said.
But Dickinson wasn’t happy with the solution.
As someone with a disability as well as underlying health conditions, he says he wasn’t comfortable going through the same door used by Horizon Health employees alongside a COVID–19 testing site.
Randy Dickinson chairs the Premier’s Council on Disabilities and says he’ll work to make sure the next elected provincial government makes changes to clearly define accessibility for voting facilities.
However, construction on a ramp began on Friday morning.
Dickinson said he’s happy it’s being installed, but he is disappointed that it took public outcry and complaining to get it done.
“As the chair of the Premier’s Council on Disabilities, we’ll be using this example to deal with the next incoming government to get amendments made to the current elections act to define more clearly the requirements for accessibility to the main entrances of all future voting facilities, whether it’s a returning office, polling stations or election day locations itself,” Dickinson said.
For now, he will go back to the returning next week to use the new ramp and cast his ballot.
“Now I feel my hope in democracy and my feeling that people are listening and trying to do the right thing is back on track and we’ll keep watching for other situations like this,” Dickinson said.
