B.C. stranger donates $13K wheelchair to Ontario musician, who now has 3 to replace his broken one
CBC
Two months after going public about his two-year wait for one new electric wheelchair, an Ontario man has more than he could have hoped for — three new electric wheelchairs, including one donated by a stranger across the country.
Shawn Brush of Burlington spoke to CBC Hamilton in January about how he was stuck with a broken electric wheelchair and was frustrated with the Ontario government's time-consuming bureaucratic process to get a replacement.
Afterward, the 52-year-old said he received an expedited response from the province. Instead of waiting months more for various levels of approval, Brush said the wheelchair arrived on March 3.
"I was on a bit of a high," he said, after the wheelchair arrived.
"I think they were in a hurry to appease the situation. I was obviously uncomfortable in that chair," Brush said, adding he thinks it's a sign people can get their assistive devices quicker than they have been.
Brush previously said he got stuck in a tilted position in his old wheelchair in the middle of the night in December, forcing him to call the fire department.
That happened while he was still waiting for the new wheelchair. The old wheelchair was only recently properly fixed.
Citizens With Disabilities Ontario also had said long waits for repairs and replacements were an issue for many people across the province.
The Disability Justice Network of Ontario has said devices can be expensive and difficult to access, leading it to open a library of assistive devices people can rent. It opened earlier this month on 423 King St. E. at the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion.
The province previously said long waits can be products of supply-chain issues and the fact service providers don't always have specialized parts that people need.
Brush said he also received an outpouring of support from people across Canada who heard about his experience.
Some offered him money — others went a step further.
A family friend offered him an electric chair he could use temporarily.
Then he got a message from a woman in British Columbia offering to donate a roughly $13,000 electric wheelchair she hadn't used.
One of Prince Edward Island’s last surviving Second World War veterans has died.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada has too much regulation and not enough investments in clean energy and technology — and he's making his most direct repudiation yet of his predecessor's environmental policies.
WARNING: This story contains distressing content, including racist, violent and antisemitic language.
A national Jewish advocacy organization is taking legal action against Manitoba's medical regulator over a complaint it made last year alleging a prominent doctor made antisemitic comments on social media.
A cat that went missing in a remote area of northeastern B.C. is finally back home with its family in Oklahoma, five months later.
It wasn’t clear trolleys would be a hit in Medicine Hat, but the Sunshine Trolley has wound its way into Hatters’ hearts.
More than 200 volunteers and politicians gathered in Etobicoke Saturday for the Daily Bread Food Bank’s holiday sort.
The rising cost-of-living has already made supporting a family difficult this year. But, the holidays can make staying on budget that much harder.
Strong winds across the Maritimes left thousands of N.B. Power customers without electricity on Saturday afternoon — and it could be days before all customers have their power restored.
Toronto police say they located a body inside a downtown Toronto home Saturday.
Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge is responding to public outcry against his government’s policy changes for non-permanent residents by making a plea to the federal government.
A man in Saskatoon is in hospital after being shot by police as officers executed a warrant late Friday night.
RCMP say a man who was reported missing near Key First Nation has been found deceased.