But the Ottawa disability advocate says he was embarrassed and humiliated by his treatment by Air Canada staff who were unprepared to deal with a man in a wheelchair, even though Brault had checked and rechecked to be sure the airline knew about his special needs.
“But by openly stating this, it’s admitting I had a moment of weakness. I know I fight for people with disability rights. But I’m humiliated by this. I’m absolutely humiliated.”Article content Brault, 52, has used a wheelchair since his 20s because of his degenerative spinal muscular atrophy. He’s a seasoned traveller and knows the hoops required to travel with a wheelchair, especially one powered by lithium-ion batteries like the smaller “hybrid” chair he took to Hawaii.Article content
Frustratingly, the same problems occurred at stops in Toronto and Vancouver. In Vancouver, Air Canada staff misplaced Brault’s wheelchair, nearly causing the couple to miss their connecting flight to Honolulu. That flight had to be held for 45 minutes and again Brault had to be carried to his seat by staff.
The couple paid $4,200 each for their return business class fares. Air Canada hasn’t offered even a partial refund.Article content“It still hurts. It took me a long time to get over this,” said Brault, who has organized workshops on accessibility and in 2019 assessed the accessibility of Ottawa’s LRT for this newspaper.
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)
Probably would have had better luck in a cargo plane.
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