Why Paint Accessible Parking When Beaches Are Inaccessible

4 new parking places at Brackley Beach are a start

Parks Canada wheelchair ramp at Brackley Beach not accessible – For the most part the National Park on PEI is not accessible to the disabled.

By Stephen Pate – For the most part, the National Park on PEI is not accessible to the disabled.

On Sunday morning I checked out the disabled parking at the Prince Edward Island National Park.

I am pleased to report that 4 new accessible parking spots were painted in at Brackley Beach. Thanks to Parks Canada for responding to Why is Parks Canada not accessible to disabled ?

That only leaves Stanhope Beach, Ross Lane, Dalvay and all the other beaches in that section of the park to be upgraded. The situation is more or less the same at Cavendish so it would be a kindness for Parks Canada to just upgrade the lot of them.

Unfortunately, our luck ran out with Minister Jim Prentice and Fisheries Minister Gail Shea. Ernie Hudson replied from Shea’s office that the Brackley Beach wheelchair ramp is accessible. That’s a joke.

I challenge Minister Shea and Minister Prentice to get in a wheelchair and climb the ramp twice with me. That exercise will give them some appreciation for how difficult the ramp is.

Gail Shea knows from personal experience that someone in a wheelchair could not make it up the ramp at Brackley. Her remarks are disingenuous at best.

I’ll have more on their reply later but let’s put it simply that the ramp and the Prince Edward Island National Park are not accessible.We stand by that until proven otherwise.

That national politicians and their local officials would try to pass off the Park as accessible says volumes about the abuse and discrimination faced by Canadians with disabilities.

They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Nothing is stopping Parks Canada employees from fixing the remainder of the parking problems but a can of blue paint, brushes, a measuring tape and some elbow grease.