Built Environment Standard Development Committee
Recommendations to the Minister of Justice
In August 2020, the Accessibility Advisory Board submitted the first phase of recommendations to the Minister of Justice.
These are initial recommendations for each topic area in the built environment. The recommendations address gaps in existing regulations for:
- exteriors
- Interiors
- emergency systems
- site selection
- housing and residences
- wayfinding and signage
- parks and recreation
Additional technical recommendations for each topic area will be submitted to the Minister of Justice in the next phase of work.
First phase of recommendations
- Full recommendations (PDF -363 kB)
- Recommendations – plain language (PDF 343 kB)
- Recommendations – American Sign Language (ASL) video
About the committee
The majority of committee members identify as having a disability. Committee members include:
- persons with disabilities, or representatives from organizations representing persons with disabilities
- representatives of organizations and classes of organizations likely to be affected by the standard, such as the municipal, construction and business sectors
- representatives from the Department of Municipal Affairs, and Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
Committee Members
Laurie Cranton, Chair - Councillor, Municipality of the County of Inverness, Margaree Centre
Ramzi Kawar, Vice-Chair - Director of Greening and Sustainable Building Practices, Department of Infrastructure and Housing, Bedford
Paul Burt - Manager, Building, Planning and Licensing, Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Sydney
Douglas Foster - Planning Specialist, New Dawn Enterprises, Sydney River
Mohammad Harb – Trained Architect, Community Volunteer, Halifax
Donna Hoar - Vice-President, Grey Cardinal Management Inc., Mineville
Andrew Jantzen - Research Assistant, Electronic Technologist, Nova Scotia Community College, Halifax
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Megan Gainer, Architect, RHAD Architects, Dartmouth
Earl MacKenzie - Director, Public Works, Town of New Glasgow, New Glasgow
Sheena Moore - Design Phase Lead, Department of Infrastructure and Housing, Halifax
Allison Moz - Way-finding Partner, Co-owner, eyecandy SIGNS Inc., Halifax
Peter Polley - Founder and President, POLYCORP Group, Halifax
Jennifer Powley - Urban Planner, Halifax
Joseph Rogers - Building Code Co-ordinator, Department of Municipal Affairs, Timberlea
Ross Sampson - Retired Production Supervisor, Beaver Bank
Saira Shah - Planner 1, Halifax Regional Municipality, Lower Sackville
Gordie Snook - General Manager, Facilities and Operations, Town of Port Hawkesbury, Port Hawkesbury
Johanna Stork - Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Vision Loss Rehabilitation Nova Scotia, Halifax
Hannah Wood - Owner, Fulcrum Accessibility Consulting, Halifax
Related information
- Accessibility Directorate
- Accessibility Act review
- Access by Design 2030
- Accessibility Advisory Board
- Government of Nova Scotia Accessibility Plan (2018–2021)
- Prevalence of disabilities in Nova Scotia
- Nova Scotia Post-Secondary Accessibility Framework (PDF)
- Nova Scotia Public Libraries Joint Accessibility Framework (PDF)
- Small business ACCESS-Ability grant program
- What We Heard: Accessibility in Nova Scotia