As chair of the Accessibility Advisory Committee, I too was insulted at councillor Dennis Egan and Barbara Huson’s accusations that the committees weren’t working, the process wasn’t working, and their committee’s were the only ones doing good work.

This was a real insult to all the true volunteers members of the public who sit on all the other committees, such as myself, who take time to go to meetings, and do want to make a difference to this community.

During my first meetings on the committee, I listened, asked questions, and tried to figure out what our mandate was. I did find it frustrating because I joined to make some real changes in accessibility to our community. I found out that it wasn’t going to be easy. But the group we have on our committee, especially the staff representative, Hilary McCormack, and councillor Christine Brayford, have been excellent resources for information, and we are realizing that we do have a lot to accomplish, but with the dedication of our committee members, it can and will be done.

We decided to concentrate on one main issue, and that is to get as many of our businesses accessible to persons with disabilities as we can. So we are working towards that and will be bringing a proposal to council soon.

 Having said all that, my point is this. You accomplish nothing from quitting. Nothing. And I think that is what our councillor’s have forgotten. They have tainted all members of committees, both councillors, and members of the public, by claiming that nothing works. I was taught to lead by example by my father, and make a difference the best way you can. And sitting on the sidelines because you can’t get your own way, is no way to act as an elected official.