FRANCAIS

April 04, 2002

The provincial government will adopt new building design guidelines to make provincial facilities more accessible for all Manitobans, including those with disabilities, Tim Sale, minister responsible for persons with disabilities, announced today.

The new universal access design policy will ensure up-to-date technologies and concepts for better accessibility are considered when government service locations are built or renovated. These new design guidelines will benefit people with various types and levels of disabilities related to mobility, balance, strength, dexterity, vision and hearing.

"This new policy was one of the commitments we made when we released the strategy paper Full Citizenship: A Manitoba Provincial Strategy on Disability, last year," said Sale. "This is important for the full inclusion of people with disabilities and in overall design planning. Building better access design into new construction and ongoing renovations costs less than making special renovations at a later date."

The minister noted that the City of Winnipeg recently became the first city in Canada to adopt its own universal design policy and is leading the way for municipal governments toward more accessible building design.

"The city is to be applauded for the leadership it has shown in improving accessibility," Sale said. "It is important that both the city and province work towards full the inclusion of people with disabilities if we are to continue to make meaningful progress in this area."

The province's universal design policy will be used for building construction and major renovations where the province has design control, either because it owns the building, has a leaseholder agreement in place or provides specific capital funding.

The policy was announced at Sisler High School in Winnipeg, which will soon undergo an expansion and renovation incorporating these types of design improvements. This project, which is funded by the Manitoba government, will include design and installation of new elevators that will ensure the facility offers universal access.

The province's new policy essentially adopts guidelines developed by the Universal Design Institute at the University of Manitoba. The institute conducts research and shares important information so that buildings are designed to be usable by all sectors of the public. The institute was founded with a supporting grant from the Rick Hansen Foundation.

The institute's guidelines are based on the National Building Code of Canada and state-of-the-art, best practice designs for universal access. The new Manitoba government policy complements the Manitoba Building Code.

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