The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) warns us that Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, will make some aspects of Canada’s federally regulated transportation system more inaccessible than it already is for people with disabilities.
Travelers with disabilities routinely encounter accessibility barriers, such as damaged or delayed mobility equipment, and kiosks without audio output to make them accessible to blind travelers.
If passed without amendment, Bill C-49 while adding new barriers, will also make it harder for organizations like the CCD, a national organization that has been working for more than 40 years in support of an accessible and inclusive transportation system, to take complaints in the public interest to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).
“We are dismayed that Bill C-49 is introducing new barriers at a time when the current Federal Government is about to introduce accessibility legislation designed to make Canada more accessible and inclusive,” states Bob Brown, Chairperson of the CCD Transportation Committee.
On March 20, 2018, Bob Brown, Chairperson, CCD Transportation Committee, and Terrance Green, Co-Chair, CCD Transportation Committee who is also on CWDO's board, appeared before the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications.
Read more about transportation barriers embedded in Bill C-49.