UBC will form an accessibility committee to comply with new BC legislation — although disabled students and faculty want to see more than simply a committee from the university.
Former UBC President Santa Ono announced the formation of the committee in an early October blog post. New regulations under the Accessible British Columbia Act — passed by the BC legislature in April — require public sector organizations to have an accessibility committee, an accessibility plan and a mechanism to collect feedback on their accessibility efforts.
Disability groups involved in listening sessions with Ono largely supported the creation of the committee, but they want more than just a committee — they want a Disability Task Force.
Katherine Benson, member of the UBC Law Disability Alliance, said a Disability Task Force could create a guiding set of long-term actions — similar to UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan — the university could use when forming its accessibility committee.
A petition started by Kathryn Douglas, a project and administration coordinator at UBC, to form such a task force currently has 166 signatures.
"[The Disability Affinity Group] has been calling for the formation of a Disability Task Force to complement the incredible work done by the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Task Force and the Trans, Two-Spirit and Gender Diversity Task Force. The ARIE Task Force report calls for the formation of a Disability Task Force at UBC," the petition reads.
Corin Parsons, student leader of the Disabled Grad Students Association, said in a written statement to The Ubyssey that the meeting with Ono was productive and included discussions around a call to action document created by disabled students.
Still, Parsons said UBC could do more.
"The requirement to form an accessibility committee is a legal mandate under the province's new accessibility legislation,” he said. “It is, as we say in our Calls to Action document, a floor not a ceiling. Forming an accessibility committee is UBC just doing what it is legally required to do, so it's strange to see it presented as somehow responsive to disabled students' requests.”
Some disabled students and faculty are also concerned about the inclusion of disabled community members in UBC’s proposed committee.
"So far, disabled folks have not been a part of the planning or organization of this committee, which is a significant problem,” Dr. Jennifer Gagnon, founder of the Disability Affinity Group, said. “Members of the [Disability Affinity Group] have offered to serve on the committee but our participation has not been invited.”
In a statement sent to The Ubyssey, Dr. Arig al Shaibah, vice-president of the Equity and Inclusion Office at UBC, said she believed the new BC legislation would complement the inclusive work UBC has already done, including creating a Disability Accommodation Policy.
She added that UBC is currently engaging in discussions to properly consult and engage on-campus disability groups.
“Efforts are just getting underway to convene relevant university offices to ensure there is a shared understanding of the accessibility imperative and to discuss the details of the governance model we will need to action the work ahead, including the establishing a committee with membership from stakeholders and rights-holders," she wrote.
Parsons said these efforts are not enough.
"The unofficial motto of the disability movement is ‘nothing about us without us’ because we're frequently excluded from decision making processes that affect us,” he said.
“I don't want a committee that takes our calls to action with no oversight or accountability and sends us on the way with a pat on the head. We need decision-making infrastructure that guarantees disabled people have a seat at the table and actual power in shaping university policy."
This article was updated at 11:46 a.m. on November 4. A previous version attributed a comment about the UBC accessibility shuttle to Dr. Arig al Shaibah. The Ubyssey regrets this error.