On Tuesday, some members of the Saskatchewan Legislature took park in a challenge to see what life is like in a wheelchair.
The Wheelchairs at the Legislature awareness campaign was put on by the First Steps Wellness Centre (FSWC), a non-profit organization, which provides service to people with spinal cord injuries and other neurological conditions such as brain injuries, Cerebral Palsy, and Multiple Sclerosis.
Andrew Schmidt with FSWC said 12 total participants took part in the challenge, including MLA’s from the Sask. Party and NDP.
In a news release, Chris Lesanko, founder of FSWC said the event was an opportunity for elected officials to experience first-hand the challenges that wheelchair users experience daily.
“Opening one’s eyes to the barriers that exist for people using wheelchairs helps to build awareness that hopefully leads to knocking down some of those barriers,” he said in the release.
As well as helping to bring awareness to the community to help understand the challenges wheelchair users face, the day was also meant to help give visibility to the estimated 1 in 6 Canadians who live with a physical disability, according to the release.
The Sask. Party’s Muhammed Fiaz, Marv Friesen, Todd Goudy, Everett Hindley, Lisa Lambert, Gene Makowsky, Paul Merriman, Greg Ottenbreit, and Gord Wyant as well as the NDP’s Meara Conway, Nicole Sarauer, and Trent Wotherspoon took part in the challenge, with some staying in their wheelchair during question period.
During the introduction of guests before question period on Tuesday, Gene Makowsky, minister of social services, said that about a month ago, he had the opportunity to tour First Steps. He was one of the MLA’s to take part in the challenge on Tuesday.
“We were able to experience some of the challenges that those who require a wheelchair deal with each and every day,” he said. “We appreciate that opportunity and all the work First Steps Wellness does in our province.”
NDP MLA Meara Conway said some of the MLA’s had an opportunity to get together and talk about the experience.
“We were reminded that the legislative assembly is one of the most accessible buildings that we have here in Regina, and we still faced a lot of challenges in navigating the space, things we couldn’t even imagine,” she said.
“It was really eye opening.”
