The City of White Rock's commitment to accessibility is being questioned again in the wake of a decision to remove Coun. Christopher Trevelyan as chair of the city's reconstituted accessibility advisory committee – after only one meeting.
Accessibility advocate Susan Bains, of the White Rock-based Equal Access Collective – calling it "a cause for concern" – noted Trevelyan has also been removed from the committee entirely, as of Jan. 27.
The change came as a collective decision of council, said city communications and government relations director Robyn Barra, in response to questions from Peace Arch News.
Coun. Bill Lawrence now replaces Trevelyan as chair of the committee. Coun. Michele Partridge – the other council representative on the committee – has resigned and been replaced by Coun. Elaine Cheung as vice-chair, she said.
A community member of the committee also resigned, Barra confirmed.
But in replacing that member, council again overlooked community members who put their names forward and who would appear to be well-qualified for the committee.
They include Bains, co-founder of the Equal Access Collective, and well-known White Rock comedian Ryan LaChance (a member of the city's original accessibility advisory committee). Both Bains and LaChance, as wheelchair users, have direct experience of accessibility challenges in the city.
Coun. Ernie Klassen (another former member of the committee) – who has decades of experience with the accessibility challenges of his son – has also been passed over.
PAN, through Barra, had asked for a statement on the committee changes from Mayor Megan Knight.
Instead, responding in emailed comments, Barra said the changes had been prompted by the two resignations from the committee.
"This happens from time to time across all committees due to various reasons," she said.
"Following these resignations, council collectively decided to appoint a new chair, vice-chair, and a community member as part of the review process."
Asked whether the replacement of Trevelyan was unusual, given that he had only chaired one meeting, Barra responded that "council has the ability to change committee membership to fit the committee mandates at any time."
On the question of why Bains, LaChance and Klassen had not been selected as committee members, Barra would say only that "we were fortunate to receive strong interest from many applicants."
"The selection process is handled with care and confidentiality, and council ultimately selects those they believe are best suited to serve and advance the committee’s mandate," she said.
But Bains, whose group campaigned successfully for the city's installation of an accessibility mat on the pier last year – despite pushback from some members of council – said current changes to the accessibility advisory committee should be a cause for concern.
"The accessibility advisory committee was restructured just one year after its creation, and now, after its first meeting, both the chair and vice-chair have been replaced," she said.
"Even more troubling, the committee’s composition doesn’t align with the requirements of the Accessibility Act of BC, which mandates that at least 50 per cent of its members must either have a disability or represent a disability organization.
"Entrusting accessibility issues to a committee lacking stability and compliance makes it unlikely that effective, meaningful solutions will be reached," she added.
Bains noted that, as of last week, there was no new meeting yet scheduled for the committee.
The current situation was brought into sharp focus at the last council meeting (Feb. 10), at which Trevelyan tried, unsuccessfully, to get a motion passed that would add accessibility to the beach for all ages and abilities to the list of the city's top strategic priorities.
"I know we have an accessibility committee – I was chair for a meeting and (now) I'm not," he said.
"We have a beautiful waterfront and, quite frankly, none of the access points are truly accessible – not just for people in wheelchairs, or with mobility needs, but also senior citizens or anybody else who wants to access the waterfront. I really think this should be put on (council's) list of priorities. It was already discussed at the accessibility committee meeting I was part of."
"I know we're working on it, Mr. Gordon (city engineering and municipal operations director Jim Gordon) already has a plan for next year. This is simply a way to say 'Hey, public, we acknowledge as a city that accessibility to the beach isn't as good as it could be.' We're currently working on it. So we want to add it to our list of priorities."
"I have to agree with Coun. Trevelyan," said Coun. David Chesney. "We are a beach resort and our waterfront, I think, needs to be addressed a little bit more than we've done in the past. ... It's time we put some time, effort, money towards making that accessible and enjoyable as possible."
Cheung, however, was resistant to stepping outside established process.
"Accessibility is important, but that is why we have an accessibility advisory committee," said Cheung.
"It's in place – for specifically the reason – to assess, and prioritize and recommend what we need. And (if) we bypass this committee, then you're disregarding the expertise, and what this community wants to input. The process should be that we pass it, we refer it to the accessibility advisory committee for review, to determine what would be the best result and what action we want to prioritize.
"If we do that, and make decisions that are isolated, we are missing the whole point of having an accessibility advisory committee," she said.
Lawrence agreed.
"Definitely I think this is a question for the accessibility committee," he said.
"Council itself has set up specific priorities for this particular year. We all voted unanimously for them, and I think that should be where we concentrate on."
Lawrence added that anything new on the council list of priorities would takes staff time away from completing other work and priorities.
Partridge said Trevelyan's motion appeared redundant, as she is sure the issue will be the top of the list of accessibility committee priorities.
"We need processes in governance. The whole purpose of having our committees is they do the work, they're committee members in the community and they tell us what is important."
Trevelyan said he viewed adding beach accessibility to the list of council's top priorities as a formality and a technicality, one that would send a strong message to the public.
"I think we need to show some leadership and take some action instead of following process. Actually make a decision and say – 'hey, it's not easy to get onto the beach.' It's not easy if you're in a wheelchair, or if you're in a stroller, or even (with) a handcart towing your gear. Let's make that one of our many top priorities.
"To say it's not a priority right now? We had one session two years ago for an hour or two to set those priorities – and we're stuck with them for four years? We should review it every single year, and say 'hey, this is a priority.' We're looking at it, we're hearing from residents, I'm hearing from the accessibility advisory committee, I'm hearing from the public, and I see with my own eyes, it's hard to get on the beach in view of mobility needs."
Knight reminded Trevelyan he had voted for the original priorities.
"This is your second term – you know how this works," she said.
She underlined that "nobody is saying we're not going to make the beach accessible," before putting the motion to a vote, in which it was opposed by Knight, Cheung, Partridge and Lawrence, overwhelming yes votes from Trevelyan, Chesney and Klassen.
Bains, however, commented that the White Rock Strategic Priorities document "should be reviewed, at least annually, to ensure it stays relevant and responsive to current needs."
"The mayor’s refusal to do so shows a concerning lack of flexibility and an unwillingness to adapt to both evolving circumstances and legislative requirements, she said.
For example, the pier accessibility initiative last year, she said, "underscores the city’s legal obligation to eliminate accessibility barriers, as outlined in the Accessibility Act of BC and the Human Rights Code—legislation that overrides any local priorities document."
