Canada: Accommodations for disabled have taken root
In addition to disabled-only parking, North Americans have become familiar with such things as wheelchair ramps, sign language, mandatory elevators, cutaway curbs, door handles instead of door knobs and sonic walk signals. As well, the stigma faced by many disabled people has been reduced.
As the definition of "disability" has changed and expanded, the percentage of self-defined "disabled" people is growing in Canada, to the point where Statistics Canada reports more than 15 per cent of the population, or 4.5 million people, claims a disability.
