The Curl Fort Frances Community Centre (CFFCC) has received over $150,000 in funding from the province to upgrade its bathrooms and make them more accessible.
While the facility’s bathrooms are technically accessible already and the rink is also one of the few in the region with an elevator giving wheelchair access to the upper floor, the bathrooms have been deemed impractical to use, and the funding announced Friday by Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford aims to correct that.
“We’re opening up the doorways, making them wider and reconfiguring the bathrooms so the wheelchairs will have the proper turn radius and those types of things,” said CFFCC president Ron Silver. “Some plumbing reconfiguration has to happen; some of the toilets have to be relocated to give wheelchairs room to turn. Three out of the four [bathrooms] can basically be similar to what they are now.”
The renovations are slated to take place this fall with tenders out, but finishing the work before the start of the curling season may depend on the availability of contractors. The centre is slated to host the Northern Ontario Wheelchair Curling Championship in March with a berth in Canadian Championships on the line, and the club aims to have the work completed well ahead of that event.
“We want everybody and anybody to curl,” Silver said. “Doesn’t matter if you’re disabled, come on down and join us here; it’s a lot of fun around the curling club.”
“Our government is continuing to work with northerners to enhance the region’s vibrant communities and ensure accessibility needs are being met,” said George Pirie, Minister of Northern Economic Development and Growth. “Inclusive environments are vital for the province’s prosperity, and these investments will help renovate spaces that boost social and physical wellbeing.”
CFCC vice president Raymond Roy expressed the organization’s thanks to the government.
“The Curl Fort Frances Community Centre is sincerely grateful to the Ontario government and the team at the NOHFC for funding our project,” Roy said. “This investment to modernize our washrooms ensures people with disabilities and older adults are supported.”
