Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 01/02) - The Yellowknife Association for Community Living is leading a call for the city to increase its staff so programs in the city recreation guide are accessible to all.

Renee Lelievre, family co-ordinator for the ACL, said the idea doesn't require a huge staffing investment by the city -- just some training and restructuring.

"The pool has junior lifeguards who have to shadow a lifeguard, so that provides an additional person already," she said. "You might need to provide more guidance, more step-by-step instructions. But that could benefit not only the child with disabilities but also many of the children that are participating in the program."

For its part, the city says it accommodates people with disabilities to the extent that it can.

"We don't turn anybody away from programs," said programs co-ordinator Brian Kelln, adding that people with disabilities can either bring a companion to help with programs or the city can assign a person an alternative activity.

Responding to calls for more help, Kelln said more personnel equals more money, "and that would also then drive the cost up of programs because we'd have to recoup that cost."

The city already holds a one-hour swim on Wednesday afternoons for children with disabilities. It has also given partial funding to the NWT Council for Persons with Disabilities which, for past few summers, has hired staff to work with children with disabilities who participate in summer camp programs.

The city hasn't been deluged with complaints, however. Kelln said he gets one or two phone calls a year from people complaining about access to city programs.

Money for accessible programming is often easy to come by, said Mayor Gord Van Tighem, adding the city could look into it.

Even so, said Coun. Robert Hawkins, "if people aren't welcome in our facilities, we have to do something about that. So I think dollars shouldn't be foremost on our mind."

The community is not united in calling for more help from the city.

Different perspectives

Al Bowerman, program director and psychologist for Bosco Homes which works with emotionally-disturbed children, said for Yellowknife's size the city has a substantial number of programs.

"Maybe they go out of their way for us, but I've been really pleased. We access our kids in community integration regularly. It's a big part of our program," he said.

"I think that more can be done," said NWT Council for Persons with Disabilities executive director Aggie Brockman, who urged the city to undergo an accessibility audit.

"People with disabilities tend to be less active than the general population," she said. "If people are healthy and happy, are there fewer demands on the medical system later?"