Power wheelchair user barred from Canadian museum

From The Edmonton Sun in Canada Sept. 20:

PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. -- A Seattle man who wasn't allowed into a Prince Rupert museum in his motorized wheelchair says he's so appalled that he may never return to Canada.

Kent McDaniel, 32, has the support of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, which believes the museum discriminated against him.

McDaniel, 32, was looking forward to visiting the Museum of Northern B.C. after arriving in Prince Rupert aboard a cruise ship.

"I asked if the Canadian government had (anything) equivalent to the Americans with Disabilities Act, and I was less-than-politely told that Canada did not," said McDaniel, who has cerebral palsy and needs constant help from a caregiver.

"I'm so appalled by this I'm thinking of never coming back to Canada because I'm worried this is how all of Canada treats disabled people."

McDaniel said curator Susan Marsden told him the only way he could enter the museum would be to have his caregiver wheel him around in a manual wheelchair.

He said he can't use a manual wheelchair because he can't balance in a sitting position. Marsden said the museum doesn't allow motorized wheelchairs because they could pose a danger to others.

She said she believes motorized wheelchairs fall into an area of legislation that hasn't kept up with technology and needs to be addressed by the province, along with other potential safety hazards such as the use of oxygen tanks.

"Our wheelchair has sides on it just like his did, and we provide a guide or somebody to push the wheelchair around if they need it.

"We also provide guides for people who are blind. So we have a policy of making the museum accessible to all handicapped people."

Murray Mollard, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said, "This seems like a classic case of discrimination. The museum should probably apologize ... immediately before they face some kind of litigation."