Saskatchewan MLAs ride in wheelchairs for a day

There were newsets of wheels cruising around the legislature today, but it wasn't happening in the parking lot.

Four Saskatchewan Party MLAs and one member of the opposition took part in a challenge posed by First Steps Wellness Centre: spend the day in a wheelchair.

"A lot of the push for the MLAs to get into wheelchairs is just having people wrap their head around the fact of what it is like," said Chris Lesanko, the founder of First Steps Wellness Centre.

The wheelchair-related challengesaround the legislature were plain to see Wednesday morning. Education Minister Don Morgan struggled within the first few minutes.

"It's a whole lot bigger challenge than I thought going into it," he admitted."I got into the thing and I only got about ten feet when I realized I didn't know how to open a door."

NDP finance critic Trent Wotherspoon was quickly working his way down the marble floors, but hecould barely get down the hallway to his office.

"It does give a practical window to what the experience is like in a building like the legislature on a daily basis," Wotherspoontold CBC News this morning.

"It's hard to manage my papers. I'm having trouble accessing my computer, I can barely get into my office, so certainly it gives us just a small glimpse into some of the realities that those in wheelchairs face every single day," headded.

For the MLAs, the challenge lasts for just one day, but for Lesanko, who received a spinal injury in a wrestling accident,accessibility is a daily struggle.

"Probably one of the first things is getting used to sitting, you know, and using your arms instead of your legs," Lesanko said.

"Doors are tough, depending on which way the open, if they open towards you or against you. Another thingis bathroom stalls, sometimes the doors will open inwards so you can't really close it when you're in there with a wheelchair.It's all those little things that people take for granted."

It's those little things that Lesanko hopes the MLAs remember the next time they're thinking about how people get around, and how theycan make iteasier for those who are in a wheelchair for life.