Access Denied: Documentary

After an experience of poor accessibility at Toronto’s Pan Am Games, Mitchell Stark decided to investigate how a lack of venue accessibility affects the public and social lives of people with disabilities. His short documentary originally aired on The Scope News program on August 10, 2015.

With the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games here in Toronto, accessibility issues are being brought to the attention of the public. My name is Mitchell Stark, and I am a person with a disability. A couple of weeks ago, I was given tickets to an event at the Pan Am Games. I was really excited for this event, but when I got to the stadium I needed to use the washroom. This became a challenge.

Although the volunteers were very nice, they did not know where an accessible washroom was. I was then told to go to a building far away from the stadium. Once I found the so-called “accessible” washroom, I realized that the door was closed, and it did not have an automatic door-opener on it. 

People with disabilities have been turned away from their seats. Some people were lucky enough to get accessible seats, only to find that their view is blocked by other excited sports fans.

Barriers to access is a symptom of a larger problem. People with disabilities are regularly excluded from public spaces due to a lack of accessibility. 3.8 million people reported to the Canadian government in 2012 that they have a disability. 230,000 of them reported that they have a disability that affects them physically, through flexibility and mobility.