DISABILITIES

By Daniel J. Vance

In January 1996, an automobile driven by 23-year-old mining engineer Steven Fletcher of Winnipeg, Manitoba, collided with a moose, leaving Fletcher a quadriplegic, meaning he was permanently paralyzed from the neck down.

Only eight years later, Fletcher as a member of Canada's House of Commons became the world's highest-ranking elected official with quadriplegia. And already he holds a top Conservative Party position, that of Senior Health Critic.

The rising political star speaks his mind. “It's interesting that our left-of-center parties (in Canada) pretend they are the only ones advocating for the downtrodden,” he said in a recent telephone interview. “The reality is they don't. If they had their way with their policies, which are government-centric, I would be in a medical institution right now.”

He strongly believes that his government should empower people with disabilities to live in the community and have personal control over their own funding in order to hire and fire their own professional caregivers. “That gives a person the flexibility to [manage] their own life,” he said. “The alternative is living in an institution and not having a life.”

He requires round-the-clock care.

Fletcher became involved in politics after some people tried institutionalizing him. In time he would become the first quadriplegic Canadian to earn a Masters degree in Business Administration. In addition to his community involvement, he was elected president of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba. In 2002 he received the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for “exemplary and outstanding contribution to the community and to Canada.”

To become a Member of Parliament, he had to beat the standing mayor of Winnipeg.

He said, “I'm fortunate to come from a strong family. There were times when I wasn't even sure I would live. Then I wasn't sure that I would have any kind of life. My family sat by my bed the whole time. Family is so important. One of my goals as a Member of Parliament is to create an environment in which to encourage the family, the building block of our society.”

As for the people originally wanting him institutionalized, he said, “After being elected, I took pleasure in going back to [them]. Somehow I don't think the institution they thought I would be entering would be the parliament of Canada.”

For more, see www.danieljvance.com or www.stevenfletcher.com