The City of Whitehorse is on the verge of having its own Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee (PDAC).

At their final meeting before the Oct. 19 municipal election Tuesday, members of council voted unanimously in favour of authorizing the terms of reference which govern the actions of the PDAC, which will work to advise the city on issues of importance to citizens with disabilities.

The council, according to council documents, will be made up of members of the public as well as a member from council, all of whom will be Whitehorse residents.

Council documents say '51 per cent of the members (must) have a disability' including people who have issues with: hearing, sight, communication, mobility, pain, agility, learning, memory, emotion or psychological challenges.

Speaking to members of council at their meeting last week, Robert Fendrick, the city's director of operations, said the PDAC is designed to inform the city of issues important to the disabled community.

'The committee will primarily be made up of people who themselves have disabilities,' Fendrick told members of council.

According to council documents, the idea for the PDAC initially came from a meeting last November and was furthered in a March 2006 meeting after consultations with the Yukon Council on Disability and Challenge Community Vocational Alternatives.

'During a presentation on accessibility at a council and senior management meeting in November 2005, administration worked at council's direction such that administration would contact the disability community for what the city may or can do in an interface capacity.'

The result of these exchanges was another meeting on March 28, 2006 where administration presented three options:

• ask for a board appointment to the Yukon Council on Disability;

• create a city advisory board bylaw;

• keep things as they are.

'At the time city administration was directed to pursue option two in the form of a PDAC.

'Subject to the provisions of (the committee's) terms of reference and all other city, territorial and federal laws, the PDAC can study and report to council on matters within the city's jurisdiction which affect or may affect persons with disabilities ...'

• In particular, the PDAC will:

• advise council on the conditions of persons with disabilities;

• consult with city departments to promote city services and facilities which meet the needs of person with disabilities;

• review, monitor and make recommendations respecting accessibility of existing and proposed city facilities and services.

The city will also receive an annual report from the PDAC and updates on the removal of barriers for people with disabilities and will have its annual budget approved by council.

Rick Goodfellow of the Challenge Community Vocational Alternatives said in an interview this morning he felt the PDAC was a step in the right direction and would end up saving the city money in the long run.

'These are emerging issues. One of the reasons is that we're finding in the free world people are turning to universal access.

'There's nothing more expensive than retrofitting,' he said, explaining that if the city knew disability issues up front, they could incorporate those issues in the planning stages of projects early.

Goodfellow said the disabled community was not consulted until 90 per cent of the planning for the Canada Games Centre had been done, and that if they had, changes could have been made to make the facility even more accessible to people with disabilities.

The PDAC, Goodfellow added, was a good way to prevent situations like that in the future as both the city and the disabled community would be in constant communication.

'It's a great way for both sides to sit down at the table and understand one-another's issues,' he said.

Len Slann, the executive director for the Yukon Council on Disability, said this morning that he too feels creation of the disability council was a good move.