Contractors belatedly install a wheelchair ramp at the Chickenburger outlet on Queen St. in Halifax Monday afternoon. Background here. Congratulations to Gus Reed for making HRM a little more inclusive than it was yesterday. The city insists that installing the ramp was a condition of Mickey MacDonald's "temporary" occupancy permit all along, but the chronology of events tells a different story. July 4 — Reed, who uses a wheelchair, meets with MacDonald to protest against the newly opened restaurant's inaccessibility. The owner is adamant that a ramp is not feasible. July 6 — Reed writes to Brad Anguish, HRM's Director, Community & Recreation Services, to complain...

27 August, 2012

Chickenburger, the iconic Halifax restaurant chain, recently opened a new outlet in a renovated building on Queen St., just off Spring Garden Road. Despite the requirements of the NS Building Code Act, the renovations did not include wheelchair access. No one who uses a wheelchair can eat at Chickenburger. No one who uses a wheelchair can work at Chickenburger. How can this happen in 2012? How can a community-spirited businessman like Mickey MacDonald thumb his nose at potential customers and employees who use wheelchairs? More importantly, how did the city allow this to happen? HRM is one of the most over-regulated cities in...

31 July, 2012