I used to believe we were making strides. With my first guide dog, access issues were minimal, often resolved through simple education. But the reality is starkly different now. The past two years with my current guide dog have revealed a disheartening truth: service dog refusals are rampant.
Business Access: A Glimmer of Hope
Fortunately, most businesses are understanding. Inquiries about my service dog, while sometimes tedious, are generally well-intentioned and easily addressed. Outright denial of entry is rare.
The Rideshare and Taxi Nightmare
However, taxis and rideshares remain a battleground. Drivers, your vehicles are public access when you offer your services. Service dogs are essential tools, akin to medical equipment. Refusing us is illegal and inhumane. Why do you persist in stranding us in extreme weather or on dangerous roadsides?
People with disabilities are living in fear. We dread being abandoned, exploited, and left without recourse. This must end.
Legal Protections and Enforcement Failures
Alberta’s Service Dogs Act, Blind Persons’ Rights Act, and Human Rights Act are meant to protect us. Yet, enforcement is woefully inadequate. Fines are not a deterrent. We need real consequences: license suspensions, stricter regulations, and consistent enforcement.
Why are police departments treating these offenses as civil matters when they carry provincial penalties? Is this a training issue, a dispatch issue, or a systemic failure?
The Emotional Toll and Systemic Injustice
We are exhausted. The psychological and emotional toll of these refusals is real and debilitating. Just yesterday, my partner and I, along with her guide dog, experienced another ride refusal. Witnessing her distress and being powerless to stop it was a new level of emotional exhaustion and anger. This was only made worse by the fact that initial contact was between the driver and me, which was where the ride refusal nightmare began. It felt akin to watching a double injustice unfold.
The government’s inaction leaves us feeling abandoned and unprotected.
The Need for Accountability: A Call to Action
It’s clear that the government is failing to uphold our rights. We are not second-class citizens. We demand accountability. We demand enforcement of existing laws. We demand change.
At this point, a lawsuit against the Alberta government may be the only way to hold them accountable for the trauma, fear, distrust, and continued discrimination faced by people with disabilities. We must demand that the protections we have on paper become a reality. We must demand change, now.
Unapologetically Blind 