Investing in accessible creative and cultural spaces helps to bring people of all abilities together and reinforces the importance of inclusion and unity. This is why the Government of Canada continues to invest in accessible infrastructure projects, including renovations and retrofits that improve existing facilities, to remove barriers and provide opportunities for all Canadians to participate fully and make lasting impact to our society and economy.
Today, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Jean-Yves Duclos on behalf of the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, Kamal Khera, visited Création Le Pantoum in Quebec City, Quebec, where he announced $74,022 in funding under the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF).
Création Le Pantoum is a music creation centre run by a group of cultural workers with a mission to strengthen the arts community through alternative and innovative means. The EAF funding will help the centre build an accessible entrance with an automatic five-door push button opening system, adjust the ground floor level slope to facilitate the entrance and support the movement of people in wheelchairs or with reduced mobility, build accessible parking, and install an accessible washroom.
This project is being supported by funding provided through the 2024 EAF small projects component call for proposals (CFP), which ran from May 28 to July 26, 2024. Under this CFP, approximately $14.7 million has been allocated to fund small scale projects across the country that will increase accessibility in community spaces and workplaces.
The funding announced today aligns with the Government's Disability Inclusion Action Plan and its goal of building a truly inclusive Canada, free of physical, societal, and attitudinal barriers.
