I'm not renewing my disability permit this year

I am not renewing my disabled parking sticker with the PEI Council of the Disabled because I don’t have to. They didn’t earn the $10.

If more people don’t renew they will start paying attention to us and do what we need them to do. It’s a protest vote against their indifference to disabled parking.

Did you ever hear the Council say people parking in blue zones should be towed away? Or there should be more blue zones. If it wasn’t for stores like Sobey’s,

Superstore, Wal-Mart and Home Depot how many disabled spots would there be? The Council doesn’t care.

The PEI Council is not advocating on behalf of Islanders. We hear those stories from the disabled over and over.

The Council didn’t advocate to change the Canada Pension application process. They refused to advocate when Canada Revenue tried to take away the Disability Tax Credit. I worked on those projects with no help from the Council.

The Council refused to advocate with the Binns’ government when he DSP was cutback $1 million.

The final straw was the July 08 Guardian letter supporting the removal of accessible parking on UPEI. They said the maximum distance is 70 metres from the door to the curb when its 50. Then the executive director said whatever the UPEI committee decided was OK.

The law is what matters but to the Council anything you want to do with a disabled person is OK. They are spineless, afraid to speak out in case they lose government funding.

Only the City of Charlottetown and maybe Summerside have given the Council the right to issue permits. The Charlottetown by-law says we need a “permit as issued by the PEI Council of the Disabled or its equivalent.”

Well I’ve got a permit from the Council and I have a disability.

The PEI Highway Traffic Act says the “vehicle prominently displays a valid emblem approved by the Minister” That’s what I have. To make sure I emailed Graham Miner Registrar of Highway Safety. As long as you have a permit, that’s what you need.

I have a permit and it’s good as long as I’m disabled which will be until I die.

I'll be darned if I'll pay them to ignore us.