Accessibility Advisory Committee Seeks to Lead City of Victoria Towards a More Accessible Future
As the capital City of British Columbia, Victoria holds a unique position. People look to the city for direction and, in many ways, sets the tone for the rest of the province to follow. The Greater Victoria area has a population of over 397,000 people and attracts more than four million visitors each year. Prioritizing accessibility in Victoria ensures that everyone can participate and experience this city.
In 2021, the Government of British Columbia introduced the Accessible B.C. Act. This act required municipalities to develop an Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC), seeking to support municipalities in creating accessible spaces.
Driven by the motto, “nothing without us”, this committee is committed to supporting the City of Victoria in creating a more accessible city where everyone can thrive.
“Our approach is quite unique,” Suzan Jennings, Chair of the AAC said. “We’re not just advising, we are creating accessible solutions and empowering the community.”
The committee, since its inception three years ago, has set the tone for forward progress on access and inclusion in Victoria, and they continue to push forward.
“Accessibility to me is having the passageway for everybody to be able to enjoy everything that they wish to enjoy or participate in without barriers,” noted Sandra Hough, Vice-Chair of the AAC.
Creating a Culture of Inclusion
The AAC is a group of up to nine individuals with lived experience supported through the efforts of the City’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Relationship building and knowledge sharing are crucial to the success the committee has had so far.
“I would say the success of the AAC and its model with the city of Victoria is from the outstanding support we’ve received from Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. They ensure our voices are heard and valued,” Suzan said. “We’ve been developing excellent relations with city departments, reaching out to the community and identifying and removing barriers.”
When Suzan Jennings was a patient at GF Strong Rehabilitation Hospital after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, she was wheeled past a photo of Rick Hansen from his Man In Motion World Tour every day.
“That was when my attitude started to shift,” she said. “If he could do it, why couldn’t I?”
Suzan, alongside other committee members, bring this passion to their work, sharing their insights and lived experience with others across the government and in the community.
The goal of the committee is to bring accessibility into City’s programs, policies and spaces and act as a resource to city departments in creating more accessible spaces. The committee has begun making inroads with community organizations and developing capacities on incorporating accessibility into all aspects of work.
“We’re not here to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but how can we help you make places better for everybody,” Sandra said. “Community and city departments are seeing us as allies.”
The AAC is made up of a wide variety of individuals from many unique backgrounds, which lends itself to looking at access from many different perspectives. Intersectionality is a key guiding principle of this work.
“We might not represent all the disabilities,” Sandra said. “But we’re a good mix and able to look at access from a wide range of perspectives.”
Working across teams and sharing knowledge helps create a culture of access and inclusion that will support everyone in being a part of the change, a principle that is at the heart of the work the AAC does.
Putting Knowledge into Practice
A culture of inclusion and access doesn't end with sharing knowledge– putting that knowledge into action is essential to creating an accessible city.
While accessibility is championed by the Accessibility Advisory Committee, the work started quite some time ago. Beginning in 2015, the Accessibility Working Group was established to work to develop an access and inclusion framework for the City that sought to put accessibility and inclusion into the work done by the city.
That was successfully completed, and this framework is now being updated, with support from the Accessibility Advisory Committee and people with lived experience, to reflect the Accessible B.C. Act.
“The goal is continuous,” Suzan said of the work the committee does. “We want to see improvement across policy, service delivery and programs. We are in forward motion. Nothing is impossible.”
Following the lead of the Accessibility Advisory Committee, the City of Victoria has now made further strides to incorporate accessibility into policy, programs and service delivery across teams.
The Official Community Plan for the City, which addresses building development, says that they have an “increased emphasis on achieving accessibility through all aspects of the City's focus areas and services. The Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw renewal will also seek to incorporate and reflect feedback on best practices including Rick Hansen Foundation guidelines for accessibility.”
The Accessibility Advisory Committee is also leading accessibility assessments under the Rick Hansen Foundation’s B.C. Grants Program which provides funding to make upgrades to make accessibility upgrades to some of their facilities, seeking to accelerate access.
With the help of the Accessibility Advisory Committee, innovative technology solutions are now being considered to help improve accessibility in city spaces. Mind-friendly environments, inclusion of invisible disabilities and neurodiversity are other important priorities for the committee.
By including accessibility more broadly throughout the city and community, accessibility is now being considered at every stage of a project or undertaking, rather than being siloed – something that the AAC has been striving for.
Future of Accessibility
Going forward, the AAC will continue to do what they can to create a welcoming, accessible and inclusive city.
Currently, four members of the AAC are enrolled in RHFAC Professional Training, which teaches learners how to rate a building for its level of meaningful access.
"We really love the Rick Hansen Foundation approach,” Suzan said. “We are excited to take the training and incorporate the principles of meaningful access and universal design into our work.”
The AAC is also working on a project where they assess buildings and public spaces through intersectional lived experience lens. They are looking at sites throughout the city and providing feedback to the government regarding how to fix some of the barriers.
“Many of us attend to provide the widest range of perspectives. We then take what we observe back to the city and suggest upgrades. They ask us questions and we answer them according to our lived experiences,” Sandra explained.
Following RHFAC Training, the AAC members and city staff develop a shared understanding of universal design and meaningful access as well as best practices in accessibility. The goal is a broad system change in which the voices of people with lived experiences are vital.
“If everyone were to take RHFAC Training and follow the principles of universal design and meaningful access, I think we would all be miles ahead,” Suzan said of her experience with training so far.
Accessibility is a journey, and each step helps create a city where everyone can go everywhere. The AAC in Victoria is working hard to work in partnership with the city to create a culture of access and inclusion.
Sandra noted: “I think we’re doing amazing things. I’m really proud to be a part of it.”
