Don’t take accommodation back to Stone Age

After reading the story about wheelchair accessibility in schools, and the strange notions of Ward 7 public school trustee Lillian Orban respecting children that use them, I’m left with fond memories of the way things used to be for children with disabilities like my deceased son, Logan. He only got a fair shake because the law told the school board to accommodate Logan up to the point of hardship, something I think I’m pretty qualified to speak to, given what Logan and I accomplished at Ridgemount Public School.

During the years that Logan attended this Ward 7 school, neither one of us saw hide nor hair of trustee Orban, but accommodation and equality won the day, thanks to my advocacy and the rules and regulations the Ministry of Education demanded the school board follow.

Fast forward to today, progressive accommodation and accessibility policy seems in the offing, unless parents and voters in Ward 7 want to regress back to the Stone Age when school boards like Hamilton warehoused disabled children like cord-wood. This is completely unacceptable in this day and age of enlightenment, where all children are important, no matter their disability, they should be equal.

That’s why I’m supporting the candidacy of Marlon Picken for public school trustee in Ward 7. A young man who agrees that accommodation and equality of all students is an important principal to have, and an honourable one, in my humble opinion.

Voting is a municipal responsibility that we should all exercise at the ballot box. Please take the time to cast your ballot, so we get the government we deserve.

Mark-Alan Whittle, Hamilton Mountain
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In association with The World According to MAW