Elections Canada to guarantee accessibility at federal polling stations

An election official hands back to a voter her marked ballot on May 2, 2011. (Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Matt Wozenilek’s next attempt to vote in a federal election should go smoother than his last two.

During the 2008 federal election, he discovered that his polling station was inaccessible – in his wheelchair, he couldn’t access the polling station on his own.

In 2011, he planned to vote at his returning office instead, but ran into the same problem.

As a result, he filed a human rights complaint against Elections Canada.

The case was heard this week, and settled Wednesday in mediation, with the electoral agency agreeing to include either automated doors or dedicated door-opening staff at every polling station across Canada.

“I feel very happy that we were able to achieve something that will affect everyone in Canada,” Wozenilek told CTV News.

To accomplish that, Elections Canada said it has already begun surveying its polling sites to determine their accessibility.

In a press release, chief electoral Marc Mayrand said the agreement would help “ensure that all Canadians can access our voting sites in a barrier-free manner.”

Other details of the settlement – including whether Wozenilek received the financial compensation he was seeking – are confidential.