The newest committee within the Islands Trust is seeking new members to help Trust Council identify, remove and prevent barriers for people who interact with it.
The Accessibility Committee hopes islanders will reach out to join the group’s mission of creating greater equality and inclusiveness for all Trust area residents, employees and clients, according to legislative and information services director David Marlor, who told current members at a special Oct. 7 meeting that any new members would only be committing their time until next year.
“So it’d be from now until the election, and then we would be going out and actually advertising for a new set of members for the committee,” said Marlor, noting that there were currently just four voting members. “One or two more might help spread the load, because obviously not everybody can be at every meeting — and with a small number, it can be a problem.”
The purpose of the Accessibility Committee is to promote inclusive and accessible practices by making accessibility and inclusion-related recommendations to policies, procedures, bylaws and infrastructure; it currently meets four times per year for a two-hour time slot that so far hasn’t been fully utilized, Marlor said, but that’s likely to change once a consultant was engaged and a draft accessibility plan was brought forward.
“It could get a bit more meaty for this committee,” said Marlor. “To really start to spread its wings, so to speak, and take off — finding our feet and the best way to utilize the committee.”
The committee’s existence and structure is mandated by the Accessible British Columbia Act, and requires a minimum of one — and up to four — representatives from “organizations that support people with disabilities, or who have disabilities, in the Islands Trust Area” as well as a minimum of one person who is Indigenous and one or two additional people from the Islands Trust Area.
For information or to express interest visit islandstrust.bc.ca/about-us/governance/accessibility-committee/.