According to a July 23 news release, the province will deliver the money to 33 organizations via the Manitoba Accessibility Fund, an annual grant program providing one-time funding to organizations to help them develop projects in the name of creating environments where residents may participate “fully and equally.”
To be eligible, projects must support objectives such as raising awareness about barriers, developing “tools, resources and training” that support compliance with the law, and eliminating barriers to in-person, electronic and print-based “information and communication.”
“Every Manitoban deserves to live, work and play in communities where everyone belongs, and no one is left behind,” said Manitoba Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine in a statement. “Our government is committed to building a more inclusive Manitoba, and through the Manitoba Accessibility Fund, we are empowering communities, organizations and institutions to remove barriers and create spaces where everyone can participate fully and equally.”
The fund, now in its fourth year, has funded 142 projects worth more than $3 million — all “aimed at improving accessibility across the province,” notes the release.
One of the organizations receiving money from the fund is Community Futures Manitoba, which will use its $44,825 to develop training in 16 rural communities on the Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation.
Executive director Jason Denbow said his organization is “excited to partner” with the province on the endeavour.
“We look forward to helping rural and northern entrepreneurs learn how to better prevent and remove barriers for their customers,” he said.
Some of the other groups receiving funding include:
- Brandon Seniors for Seniors Co-op, which will use its $39,314 for a project establishing a volunteer-based transportation program to provide “safe, accessible and reliable rides” for seniors to things such as medical appointments, grocery shopping and community activities.
- The City of Selkirk is using $39,380 to provide accessibility training for staff responsible for “citizen communications.” The money will also be used to redevelop the city’s website and communication materials.
- Level It Up is using $26,805 to promote “autistic voices and perspectives” during the hiring process and “engage autistic user-experience consultants” to review e-learning content through an “autistic lens.”
- The Rural Municipality of Alexander will use $22,335 to undertake an accessibility audit of physical spaces, communication methods and digital platforms in efforts to identify “existing barriers.”
- Asian Women of Winnipeg is using $42,900 to enhance the accessibility of community events by providing training programs for hospitality staff and event organizers.
According to Barrier-Free Manitoba, a non-profit “cross-disability” initiative formed in 2008, nearly 175,000 Manitobans have a disability — almost one in six people.
“Over the next 20 years as people grow older, the number will rise to one in five Manitobans,” states the organization on its website.
“A disability can happen to anyone at any time,” it states. “Some people are born with a disability. For others, the disability happens because of an illness or an accident. Sometimes it’s because the person is getting older. In fact as the population ages, most of us will eventually face some kind of disability, even though we might not use that term to describe it.”
Types of disabilities, it states, include physical, vision, hearing, intellectual, mental health and developmental, as well as those involving chronic pain.
If you have any information, story ideas or news tips for Law360 Canada, please contact Terry Davidson at t.davidson@lexisnexis.ca or 905-415-5899.