Speech.

I'm doing a speech for my Mightywheels.ca at the self advocacy federation 

august 2nd at 4:00 please stop by..

18304-105 Avenue, Suite 104, Edmonton, Alberta, T5S 0C6

The Self Advocacy Federation (SAF)

SAF speech

Hello all, I'm Tim the founder of mightywheels dot ca Canada's first wheel accessibility team, raising awareness of the problems that people who use wheels face everyday. I'm very passionate about this, probably because I too use wheels.

Edmonton has poor accessibility and they about 4-5 years behind in their accessibility updates, Edmonton is not the best place for people who use wheels. For an able-bodied person, the journey from my apartment to the closest grocery store is a short, 5-minute walk, they can make it even shorter by cutting through the parking lot of the neighbouring plaza.

For me, that same journey takes an easy 30 minutes. I am forced to wheel over, over size speed bumps, large cracks in the sidewalk, numerous potholes and other horrific obstacles. I have fallen out of my chair from getting my wheels stuck in a crack of the city sidewalk.

These problems do not only affect me, they also affect parents pushing baby strollers, people using walking aids or other people using wheelchairs.

When I first brought my concerns to my local city councilor, Not mentioning any names... I was told that Edmonton didn't have an accessibility problem... And when I requested a meeting with that counselor, I was told that I had already met with him, which I hadn’t. I don't want any enemies, so I'll let that one slide.

But, how can we work together to solve our accessibility issues if the city councilors, the people who have the power to help address these issues, will not listen to our concerns? I came up with an idea to create the "MW Pledge”. The "MW Pledge" lays out the principles of mightywheels dot ca which are to help to create an accessible Edmonton for everyone.

Next year, there will be a city election, with dozens of candidates asking for our support. I will be asking every person running for mayor and council to sign the "MW Pledge" to show their support for an accessible Edmonton. I will make public all the candidates who have signed the "MW pledge" so that other advocates know who they can count on to support the community. After the election, we will hopefully have a council that have all signed the "MW Pledge." That will hopefully ensure that they keep their word to help us create a more accessible Edmonton.

The time for action is now! Let's work together to elect a council that will listen to our needs. We can turn Edmonton into a world leader of accessibility. Thank you for taking the time to hear me out. I am Timothy The founder of mightywheels dot ca

And before I forget please like my group and sign my pledge for a more accessible Edmonton.