Saskatoon voter frustrated over accessibility issues at polling station
Voting is a right every adult Canadian citizen has, but one Saskatoon man says his polling station wasn’t set up for him to enter in his wheelchair despite being led to believe it was accessible.
“The voter card said this site meets all 15 accessibility criteria for Roland Michener School,” Sikorski told CTV News.
The Elections Canada website outlines the criteria, which incudes level access to the entrance.
However, when Sikorski arrived to vote on Monday, he quickly realized he couldn’t get into the school gym door because the threshold was about seven centimetres high.
“Once I noticed it, I realized it was going to be no good for me to get in,” he said.
Sikorski says he was embarrassed as there was a lineup of people behind him and as someone who only began using a wheelchair in December, he’s only now starting to get out in after a brain aneurism left him paralyzed from the armpits down.
In an emailed statement, Elections Canada regional media advisor, Marie France-Kenny said she couldn't comment on the specific polling station.
However, she said the agency's returning officers "made every effort to choose polling locations that meet Elections Canada’s 15 mandatory accessibility criteria."
France-Kenny said changes required due to the COVID-19 pandemic have meant many locations used in the past were not available and returning officers needed to find bigger polling locations to allow for physical distancing.
"This means that polling places were sometimes in unusual locations or further from electors’ homes and may not have met all our accessibility criteria," France-Kenny said.
Sikorski doesn’t accept the explanation and says this particular school was his usual polling station in previous elections and is the usual location for voting in the neighbourhood where he’s lived for 14 years.
Sikorski says once the elections staff realized he couldn’t get into the gym where the polling was, they told him this accessibility concern was known to them.
“They said that they had identified it a week ago and no one did anything about it,” he said.
Sikorski did eventually get to vote, but he had to be escorted to the front doors of the school by his nurse and elections staff where there was a little ramp that he could get up, but then he was met by school staff.
“They didn’t necessarily want to let me in because of COVID and I said I was a parent and they let me in finally and I went through the entire school to get to the gym,” Sikorski said.
According to Elections Canada for the 2021 federal election, over 97 per cent of polling places meet its mandatory accessibility criteria or have level access. The same was true in 2019.
Sikorski is frustrated with the fact that despite the known issue, the site was still listed as accessible.
.He wants to bring awareness to the issue so that others don’t have to experience the same situation when heading to vote and he hopes to have the issue addressed for the next election.
He said he expecting a call from Elections Canada to hear his concern.
Elections Canada provides a link on its website for voters to submit feedback about accessibility issues at polls.
The agency encourages electors to provide feedback on accessibility to help improve its services.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Here's how much more Canadian landlords are asking for now, according to a just-released report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
What is basic income, and how would it impact me?
Parliamentarians are considering a pair of bills aiming to lift people out of poverty through a basic income program, but some fear these types of systems could result in more taxes for Canadians who are already financially struggling.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Out-of-control wildfire burning near Fort McMurray
As of 9 a.m. on Friday, the wildfire burning 28 kilometres southwest of the northeastern Alberta city was 25 hectares in size.
Mexico's president accuses press and volunteer searchers for missing people of 'necrophilia'
The administration of Mexico's president has accused the press and volunteer searchers who look for the bodies of missing people of 'necrophilia,' comments that drew criticism this week.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.