26 Parliamentarians spent the day in a wheelchair
Ottawa, ON – Today, 26 Parliamentarians representing all political parties came together to participate in the 6th annual Chair-Leaders Campaign to raise awareness for people living with spinal cord injuries.
“It does wake me up to the fact that the places we think are barrier free are in fact not barrier free,” said Laurie Hawn, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre. “Places like Parliament Hill you think would be, but it’s not.”
The total achievement of $56,194.00 was announced during the event, which marked the end of a national fundraising campaign for Spinal Cord Injury Canada that took place during the month of May.
“Fundraising is very important because we will never get enough money to advance the cause otherwise,” said Myrtle Jenkins-Smith, president of Spinal Cord Injury Canada.
A committee comprised of Laurie Hawn, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, Peter Stoffer, Member of Parliament for Sackville – Eastern Shore, Sean Casey, Member of Parliament for Charlottetown and The Honourable Jim Munson, Senator, Ottawa-Rideau Canal challenged 26 Parliamentarians to spend a day in a wheelchair and live first-hand what accessibility really means.
About the campaign
The Chair-Leaders Campaign is an annual fundraising campaign to raise awareness about ability.
Every year, people across Canada get together to spend the day in a wheelchair and see first-hand what accessibility really means. But this year, it’s more than that. This year, we celebrate ability!
About Spinal Cord Injury Canada
Spinal Cord Injury Canada assists people with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities in achieving independence, self-reliance and full community participation. Spinal Cord Injury Canada has been the lead community-based service provider to persons living with spinal cord
injury (SCI) in Canada since 1945. Together with its affiliated provinces, Spinal Cord Injury Canada (formerly known as The Canadian Paraplegic Association) provides services to over 20,000 members yearly.