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20m. 6 CW York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune. published every Thursday and Saturday. is a division 01 the Metroland Media Gmup Ltd. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. Metroland is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario. The York Region Newspaper Group also includes The Liberal. serving Richmond Hill and momhill. Vaughan Citizen,'lhe EraBanner (Newmarliet/ Aurora). Markham Economist The Suanribune welcomes your let- ters. All submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number, name and address The Sun-Tribune reserves the ri t to publish or not publis and to edit for clar- ity and spare. unmmmwm. "um-mum. (momma WAN mm Sun, Georyna Advocate,York Regan Business Tunes, Nonh of the City, yomegionmm and Yock Region Printing. (madan cam Supervisor Carrie MacFarlane WISH Pu: 905-640-8778 mbanuilkOyrmgcom Bonnie Rondaau brondazué’yrmgcam mormanfiyrmgcom dandrmrmyrmgxom jmatonOyrmgcom DISTRIBUTION Carolyn Norman Dawna Andrews Amumsmc DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 Pnonucnon lmuonflmgcom ADVERTISING 9056402612 fled: woo-743-3353 u: 905-640-8778 Mike Banville [ETIERS POLICY Enrmwu. EDITORIAL Iim Mason MEDIA e take it for granted we're OK...until life’s challenges teach us otherwise. Then, experienc- ing our own limitations, we confront our disabilities. This realization pro- foundly changes how we see, and manage, disability. Renaissance Humanism gave us Leonardo's “Vitruvian Man”. Cosmo- politan Magazine gives us “Woman's Woman". One thing is clear: we prefer to stress the positive over the negative.Yesterday, psychologists said we were all neurotic, today they say we are all “able”. While comforting, this rosy pic- ture is false, because perfect folks like you and me are so rare, even in our wonderful community. It is also misleading because it prevents us from addressing our own flaws. Saying everyone is “able” not only creates a “false normal”, it also iden- tifies the disabled as “abnormal”. Only when individuality is under- stood as a unique mix of ability and disability, can we stop identifying persons with disabilities as “emep- tional". Let's admit it: The more common attribute - among our kin, friends and neighbours alike - is our imperfection. This idea is as old as the Bible. where Adam and Eve reached for lETTERS TO THE EDITOR Rink users unimpressed One distraught motherc nlninnl‘ nf hm] hpr tndl At a gathering of novice A Clipper minor hockey parents one of the topics discussed was your cover story. Re: Stoufi‘uille’s new arena no winner: visitor, Feb. 20. Wecouldcertainlyempathise with Cheryl Parker’s point of view. We all agree that our new Stoufi'ville Clippers Sports Com- plex is sorely disappointing, We wonder if anyone involved in the planning has ever had chil- dren involved in the sport? Poor is the obvious downfall of the new arena but as themotherofthteemhockeyJ can't help but wonder why the change rooms axe designed in such an inconvenient fashion? We all but stand on top of one another in the cramped rooms. Why were no stairs put at the other end of the building? Penâ€" alty boxes cannot be seen from the stands either. If you choose to stand close to the pad at the upper level you will hear it from the viewers whose precious little View you will be blocking, Are you ready to embrace the new normal? Onedistraught motheroomâ€" plained of how her toddler's foot became stuck in the gap betweenmegiassandconcrete. could have put up Town of Whitchurch-Stoufl'ville to accept suggestions from those of us who spend count- less hours in our facilities in the future. We are “baflled” how Mr. Richardson has not heard “any negative" comments. Perhaps he should sit in the stands and listen to parents andvisitors With proper planning. this complex could have gener- ated more income. As it is I am happy to leave the building Let’s just say I won’t be making a washroom break on the way out. Chances are there will be a line-up. divine knowledge, only to get turfed from Eden. Starting with this less flat- tering picture of ourselves, gives us a useful starting point for social change because admitting universal disability is the first step in making society more truly “inclusive”. This kind of inclusion is envisioned by the Community Living movement, not just locally and nationally but also internationally - as with the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, soon to be ratified by Canada. In Ontario, with the closure of “large institutions”, and passage of the Accessibility Act (AODA. 2005). we see the for inclusion pro- moting the accommodation of persons with disabilities. it advocates their full acceptance into local life. and asserts that all Canadians, bar none. enjoy the DENISE KOVAC STOUFFVILLE Sal Amenta same rights and privileges. This is a bright, new vision. It includes people with all kinds of dis- abilities, both visible and invisible, and does not make invidious comparisons between “us and them”. Since true inclusion excludes no one, it requires acceptance and accommodation of all individuals, in their infinite diversity. This vision also implies that dis- ability is a matter of degree, and that we have a duty to care for each other according to our needs. If we are all needy - in one way or another, at one time or another â€" then care and sup- port must be proportionate to our relative disabilities. Justice addresses needs, not wants. Not surprisingly, this picture flies in the face of statistics. Officially, only about 12.4 per cent of Canadians â€" 3,601,000 â€" have disabilities that pre- vent them from participating in com- munity life. This figure, however, does not include mental disorders, which afflict one-quarter of us every year, and double that during our lives. Nor does it include the dramatic increase in such conditions as Autism Spectrum Disorâ€" der or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. When all of these disorders are included â€" anxiety, mood, social, impulse control and substance use â€" the overall figure jumps to even more than 50 per cent. 'Il'ue, this number is fluid, since we move in and out of ill- PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot Tribune ness, physical and otherwise, through- out our lives. But surely our aging pop- ulation will only inflate this figure in the coming decades. Clearly then, official statistics vastly under-estimate the number of Cana- dians afliicted by disability. Arguing whether the true rate is 25, 50 per cent or even higher is like debating how many angels fit on the head of a pin. Answer: all of them - or us - because in its diverse forms, is the “new normal"! Utterly dependent in infancy and senility, totally disabled in dying, we all experience disability. We cannot escape giving or receiving care during our lives. We are all “challenged” by physical, emotional, intellectual, moral, spiritual, or even perceptual disability â€"asinawillfulblindness to this fact. Accepting this will be hard for the gifted among us, until we see the light. Only by Divine Gracet or Blind Chance. are we “able”...for the time being... Appreciating universal disability pro- motes tolerance and accommodation for those less fortunate than we are. SahatomAmenQPhD isavice president for Community Uving - Wet/Aurora Distn'ct Regional Director. on the boardofdirectors forCom- munity LMng Ontario, 8 famin leader in the Canadi- anAssociation forCommunIty Livinganda member of The SunTribuneS Community Links panel. Ennon IN Cum Debora Kelly Busumss V MANAGE]! Robert Lazurko So let's embrace the new normal Dmncron, Ammusmc, 0131113011010 Nicole Fletcher Dmcmn, OPERATIONS Barry Black