People with disabilities are consumers, too

The Guardian, Charlottetown, January 9, 2008

Commentary by Stephen Pate

There are 22,000 people on PEI living with a disability, according to Statistics Canada’s 2006 census. They represent a sizable block of spending power that is voting with its feet, or wheelchair, to shop at the new box stores ignoring stores which lack accessibility.

If a store lacks accessible parking, automatic door openers, ramps, guides for the blind, they are missing out on the spending dollars of 40 per cent of the population.

Since the last census, the number of people with disabilities on PEI has risen to 22,000 which represent about 60,000 people with their families. About 40 per cent of Islanders are in a family relationship with a person with a disability.

When Islanders with disabilities go shopping as a family unit, they are looking for parking first. Can they park the car close enough so that their family member can walk with a cane, walker or use a wheelchair to get into the store safely? For persons with vision disabilities, being close to the store reduces their risk of difficulties with snow or other sidewalk obstructions. As well, they can be assisted with aural walk signals.

Without being legislated or pressured, large corporate stores understand the relationship between accessibility and shopper spending. I recently discovered box stores in West Royalty have between two and eight accessible parking places per store. Five stores have doors that automatically opened as all shoppers approached while others had button operated doors.

One store even posted a large sign that offered to help a shopper with a disability in any way possible. I asked what that meant: it means the store will provide a shopping assistant, someone to pack bags, someone to put the bags in the car and even someone to help the person with a disability fill out a job application. No wonder that store is the largest in the world.

In contrast, Charlottetown’s large downtown mall has 5 accessible parking spots around ‘dizzy block’, but only one spot is near an accessible entrance. Three other mall entrances are not accessible, since they have steep ramps and no power door openers. Ironically, one of those inaccessible entrances is the entrance used to visit the PEI Council of the Disabled.

When I asked why the downtown Post Office doesn’t have accessible parking, I was told it wasn’t their responsibility and was given confusing instructions on whom to contact. Other merchants have responded in a similar manner. It’s always someone else’s job to ensure accessibility. Even government offices and buildings like the Legislature are by-and-large inaccessible. Fingers get pointed in all directions and little is done.

For Islanders living with disabilities, it’s a tiresome routine. We don’t want to be complainers, beggars at the table of mainstream society. Please allow us to enter your store sir, like poor Oliver Twist asking for food. Who starts their day looking forward to fighting their way into a restaurant for lunch, or a store for bread or their place at work?

However, out in West Royalty some savvy merchants have figured out the shoppers with disabilities have lots of money and their will spend their money the easiest place they can. Their accessible parking lots are ample. You’ll even hear people say all the accessible spots are full from time to time.

Money talks but the downtown merchants and government departments aren’t listening.