Chris Caldwell, Parks Superintendent, Algoma Parks Cluster: Anything that we develop nowadays, we always have barrier-free accessibility incorporated into our plans to allow everyone access to our facilities — whether it be our comfort stations, our nomadic-type camping facilities, which we call yurts — we have ramps on our yurts — our outdoor amphitheatre, we have a staged area where we have a ramp facility. Anything that we do actually, we try to always in the back of my mind as a parks manager, to think … I can access it, but can the disabled access it as well?

Shannon Lawr, Assistant Superintendent, Pancake Bay Provincial Park: We've had a lot of great clients who have been camping here at the park for a number of years and have constantly approached us, asking us questions about how to improve our access.

We've had a wonderful seasonal camper here who asked us questions and challenged us to make an access to the beach. And we were able to meet his challenge.

Some things are minimal cost. Some things are no cost. A wheelchair can access the side of a picnic table. It just depends on where you locate the bracing on the table to allow free and easy access — something as simple as a concrete barrier around a fire grill. I think there is a minimal cost of $100 or so to prevent a person in a wheelchair from accidentally tripping into the fire. So, it protects them from getting burned or having difficulty with accessing the fire itself.

Diane Morell, Chair of the Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee: I am the chair of the Sault Ste. Marie Accessibility Advisory Committee. We are a committee of council and we advice the Sault Ste. Marie City Council on accessibility issues related to the municipality.

It's so nice to see some steps taking forward. It's been a long time in coming. I've had a disability for many years and I've seen a lot of changes over the years. Some of those changes have been very, very slow in coming. But, in recent years, they are coming along a little quicker and they are becoming more important to the community as a whole. The fact that they have a facility that they've taken the time to build a nice deck, ramps into the tents. They provide bedding which is up off the ground — is a really nice thing. It makes camping and getting outdoors and enjoying our wonderful summer so much easier.

We've had a lot of positive comments about our beach access. Folks — who are just older and may not want to walk that far or find it difficult to walk on sand — those with little kids — it's provided a really, really convenient access to get onto the sand and onto the beach. A lot of our handicapped-accessible washrooms have been used by families. They are able to bring their strollers into the shower unit and have everything sort of all in one. It's provided actually numerous benefits for our campers.

Whether it's a mother with a stroller, a youngster with a hockey bag, someone with a visual disability, it really improves the accessibility for our community.

It improves it for everyone.