Montreal is a hilly landscape riddled with narrow sidewalks and bustling storefronts. As we leave the winter behind and embrace spring, it is easy to forget the difficulty many people have in navigating this city. Montreal is home to approximately 500,000 residents with mobility impairments, as reported by a 2019 census of metropolitan areas in Canada. Despite around 16 per cent of Montreal residents having at least one type of disability, the province of Quebec has the lowest annual disability assistance income in the country, reported at $16,355 in 2022. As a result, residents have issued complaints about the lack of accessibility in many of Montreal’s public spaces, such as the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) metro system. The metro system fails to account for its disabled population, with only 29 out of its 68 total metro stations — less than half — having elevators.
In response to these criticisms, the city of Montreal announced its new universal accessibility policy last December, hoping to aid accessibility in four main areas: 1) architecture and urban planning; 2) programs, services, and employment; 3) communications; and 4) awareness and training. However, this plan was met with backlash from local activist groups, such as Ex Aequo, a Montreal-based organization that promotes and defends the rights of those with disabilities, which stated in an interview with the Gazette that the plan lacks systemic measures aimed at targeting real change. Despite the city’s recent efforts to improve accessibility, Montreal has only ever made fickle promises to its residents. Montreal is currently ranked at a Level 2 out of 5 for accessibility according to the mayor’s assessment, which is the same level Montreal was at in the early 2000s.
McGill’s approach to accessibility has been no different. Many of the buildings on campus are only partially accessible. For instance, building entrances for those who require ramps or elevators are often not clearly indicated. Furthermore, several buildings on campus have no elevators, including McTavish 3438, restricting accessibility past the first floor. Most of the infrastructure on campus designed to improve accessibility — primarily ramps — is ill-maintained during the winter due to the snow and salt.
For those with mobility impairments, McGill provides an adapted transport service, which is free for students and faculty members. However, individuals seeking to use this service are required to present medical documentation; this lengthy process may be especially difficult for international students to complete. In winter, when the roads are slippery and the snow is poorly plowed, it is even more challenging to get to and from campus, making McGill’s shuttle service essential. McGill does not rise above the bare minimum regarding its accessibility services, clearly reflecting the university’s inaction toward ensuring the best possible campus experience for its students.
Amidst these major shortcomings, McGill announced a new phase in their accessibility strategy last October. Guided by the McGill Equity Team, the plan seeks to promote inclusion in student experience, research and knowledge, outreach, workforce, and space. Accessibility encompasses much more than mobility, including mental health, financial accessibility, and gender-affirming care. However, with this wide-ranging definition of accessibility, this new phase still lacks a clearly detailed path of action for the university. McGill has not provided a step-by-step list of tasks with deadlines on when they seek to fulfill their goals, leaving many in the dark about what this accessibility strategy will be focused on accomplishing.
At McGill, providing students with the best academic experience should be the main priority. Many of McGill’s strategies to help improve accessibility don’t take into account students’ perspectives and are often there as a vanity boost to paint the university as a diverse and inclusive setting. Yet, the McGill administration continues to pump millions of dollars into infrastructure projects, such as the Y-intersection that has been uprooted to create a more “pedestrian-friendly” campus. Instead of focusing on cosmetic renovations, McGill needs to invest in creating more accessible spaces, since these define how students navigate campus the most.
With the most recent budget cuts, McGill has also been slowly removing another source of accessibility for students: financial accessibility. Many faculties are being forced to make major cuts: in particular, the Arts are facing 15 to 20 per cent reductions in teaching support budgets, which includes pay for teaching assistants (TAs). As a result, faculties are choosing to reduce the number of TA positions available per semester, or simply reposition TAs as graders or other academic casuals. This means that many graduate students who rely on their TA position as an extra source of income, especially with rising costs of living, are being cut off.
Students who work at other parts of the university, such as the Le James Bookstore, have also been facing the repercussions of these budget cuts. The campus bookstore laid off all its part-time student positions. Tuition increases have already made the university inaccessible to many out-of-province and international students.
In 2017, the Daily published a piece discussing McGill’s physical, financial, and social inaccessibility. Despite the article being over nine years old, students still face many of the same problems. In 2023, the Editorial Board discussed accessibility problems in Montreal during winter. Nevertheless, as many critics of the city’s new accessibility plan have stated, there has not been major change in over twenty years. As a student body, we must continue to make it clear to McGill that addressing inaccessibility on campus should be an utmost priority. Support Montreal-based initiatives and organizations, such as Regroupement des activistes pour l’inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ), Ex Aequo, and the Montreal Association for the Intellectually Handicapped (MAIH), that seek to support the members of our community with disabilities and bring awareness to institutions that fail to provide accessibility.