Quebec wheelchair user wants to launch class action lawsuit against Via Rail Canada for discrimination, inaccessible passenger cars

From QMI:

QUEBEC CITY, Canada - A Quebec woman wants to launch a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit against Via Rail Canada for what she alleges are "discriminatory and abusive practices" against wheelchair-bound customers.

In a complaint filed in a Montreal courthouse August 31, Gaetane Cummings claims she wants to represent all disabled Canadians who have been affected by what she calls "inaccessible" Via Rail passenger cars.

She maintains she felt cheated by the Crown corporation on a September 2009 trip she took between Montreal and Vancouver.

The 53-year-old multiple sclerosis sufferer was travelling on a $1,666 first-class ticket she purchased after being told by a Via Rail employee her cabin would be adapted to meet her needs.

The rail company assured Cummings she would be able to move freely from one car to another and would be have full access the restaurant and bar areas.

But when Cummings switched cars in Toronto, she ran into trouble.

"An hour before the departure from Toronto to Vancouver, an employee told the appellant she had to stay in the same wagon and couldn’t move from one to the other like the other passengers, and would not have access to the showers, restaurant car, the bar or the observation car,’’ her lawyer Jean Yanakis said.

Cummings said she was forced to continue her journey confined to her cabin and her husband had to carry her to the bathroom.

She said she felt "excluded, embarrassed, saddened and weakened’’ by the situation.

According to the Via Rail website, all trains are accessible to wheelchair-bound travellers.

"However, the availability of said services vary according to the train equipment in use,’’ the site notes.

Elizabeth Huart, a spokeswoman for Via Rail, said the company offered Cummings a full refund last October.

"In the case of Ms. Cummings, we are very sorry for the experience she had on board,’’ she said.

Huart added the rail company was investing $7-million to improve mobility on their trains.

Via Rail has previously come under fire for inaccessible passenger rail cars. In a 2007 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada forced the rail company to improve access for passengers with limited mobility.

Cummings is claiming the cost of her ticket, along with $30,000 in compensation for herself other disabled passengers.