Guelph accessibility committee members quit over strained relationship with city council

CTV’s Spencer Turcotte speaks to several former members of Guelph’s accessibility committee who claim they weren’t being heard.

Several key members of Guelph’s Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) resigned from their positions during a meeting last week.

They say it comes after years of not being heard or having a say in the decisions that impact the disabled community.

“I’m stepping down from this committee, effective immediately,” said former AAC chair Lorelei Root during the meeting. “Accessibility is an afterthought at best, and a nuisance at worst to this city.”

Root resigned after years of holding that position. It wasn’t just her who seemed to have had enough either, as three others joined her in resigning during the meeting.

“It is getting exhausting for the amount of work that we’re putting in just to have it disregarded,” said AAC vice-chair Anordul Cameron. “So I will be resigning in protest as well.”

AAC members Mike “O’dah ziibing” Ashkewe and Deborah Stienstra followed suit, indicating they would not be applying again for the committee.

No remaining members were willing to step in to the newly vacated chair and vice-chair positions, so the meeting was adjourned.

It comes after several points of contention were not resolved over the course of months and years.

One of them is that AAC members felt they didn’t have a say in who gets to be on the committee.

“Denying a voice to a group of marginalized people who do just an inordinate amount of work for the city for absolutely free is not a good look,” said Root.

Ashkewe said that was the final straw for him.

“I asked to have a voice in my own representation and I was denied,” he said.

Another sticking point is that the AAC said they were never consulted on the public space use bylaw.

“We were explicitly promised that would happen before the item went to council, but we didn’t get that engagement,” Root said during the meeting.

Ashkewe echoed her points during an interview with CTV News.

“We were told you don’t even get to sit outside the door. You can sit outside in the parking lot,” said Ashkewe.

The AAC resignations come as the city said it is recruiting for vacancies on all of their recently re-designed advisory committees of council, which saw several of those committees cut or merged.

The provincially-mandated AAC was not eliminated or consolidated, but some members still felt it was time to move on.

“It was very validating to know that other people were feeling the same way, but it’s also just incredibly disappointing and heartbreaking,” said Root.

General Manager of city clerks Dylan McMahon told CTV News in an emailed statement the city appreciates the efforts and volunteer time of all AAC members.

“The AAC has, and continues to, provide valuable feedback, expertise and knowledge to City Council and staff as we work together to improve accessibility in Guelph,” the statement reads, in part. “In the interim, the remaining AAC members continue to fulfill the statutory requirements of the committee under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.”

So while any legal requirements may be satisfied, many members were not.

Root says Guelph’s disabled community will now have to band together to ensure their voices are heard through other avenues.

The deadline to apply to the AAC was Monday. New members for all advisory committees will then be appointed by council in the coming weeks.