Disability advocates call on municipalities to have more 'empathy' when it comes to snow removal

Tall snow banks and snow covered sidewalks are making it more difficult for people with disabilities to get around this winter.

Advocates are asking residents to be more mindful of regularly clearing the paths around their homes or businesses.

Abigail Murphy, a disability advocate from Waterloo, says municipal staff also need to do more to help.

"Poorly cleared sidewalks and very narrow snow banks create obstacles for people who use wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, crutches and other mobility aids," she said, pointing out that sidewalks are required to be stable and slip resistant under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

"[Snow-covered sidewalks] give people two options: first is to just not go outside during these weather events, which means missing appointments, work class events, friends just missing out on life and excluded from the public," Murphy said.  

"And the other option is to instead walk on the street around traffic, which places them at a significant risk," she explained.

In 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that people can sue cities over snow removal activities that cause injury. The ruling stems from a case where a woman injured herself while climbing over a snowbank in Nelson, B.C.

Mike Ashkewe from Guelph, knows firsthand what it is like to get stuck in a tall snowbank. He uses a mobility scooter and says it's happened to him several times this winter.

Last week, he said he took a Guelph Transit bus home — and quickly found out his last stop was blocked by a tall snowbank.

"We pull up to the bus stop, the driver deploys the ramp... I get off the bus and immediately I get stuck," Ashkewe said, adding that's when, along with his wife, he began looking around for help.

"I happen to know Ward 1 councillor Erin Caton, who lives pretty close to me, and they were able to come down with their partner to come help me dig out along with some of my friends that lived close by. Erin had taken my phone and called city operations emergency after hours number and had requested help... as of right now, that call has never been returned."

Ashkewe says it a group of bystanders and friends about 45 minutes to dig him out of the snow bank.

Waiting so long in freezing temperatures was painful and Ashkewe says he was worried about getting frostbite.

"This could have happened to anybody... A lot of the disabled residents and other advocates in the city don't feel like we're being adequately listened to — that accessibility when it comes to snow removal is a low priority," he said.