00:00A dispute over a disabled parking space has ignited political tension, spilling from a public car park into the Senate
00:08chamber.
00:09Temporary PNM Senator Kyron James is calling for action against UNC Senator accused of improperly using a spot reserved for
00:18persons with disabilities.
00:20As a member of the disabled community, Mr. President, I call upon the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service to do
00:25their duty and charge that public official under the motor vehicles and road traffic.
00:33Mr. President, it cannot be rules for thee, not for me.
00:37James made the call while contributing to a motion on a national strategic plan for persons with disabilities brought by
00:45Independent Senator Alicia Pauline Lalit Etienne.
00:48This one strikes a nerve, especially for me, because Mr. President, as we all can see, I am a resident,
00:56I'm a citizen who is differently abled.
00:58I'm also a driver.
01:00And Mr. President, do you know when I go to these areas that have handicapped parking, I refuse to use
01:07those parking spots because I believe that I still have enough strength to walk 10 steps and leave that spot
01:13for somebody's money.
01:14But the controversy didn't end there.
01:16The senator at the center of the issue, Philip Alexander, responded on Facebook, accusing opposition leader Penelope Beckles of using
01:25James' disability for political gain.
01:28He described the move as reprehensible and challenged her to appoint James permanently, arguing that failure to do so would
01:36expose what he called a shameful stunt.
01:39Earlier in the day, Alexander met with representatives of the Disabled People's International TNT chapter at the same location where
01:48the incident occurred, offering an apology and a symbolic gesture.
01:53If I say it's wrong, it's wrong.
01:55I am here today to not only apologize to them who I fought for to get these spaces, but to
02:03make a symbolic donation of what the fine is for parking.
02:08It's in a disabled parking space.
02:12Yes.
02:13So it's made out to be charged with disabled people's international for the amount of the fine.
02:18Alexander, responding to the calls for him to be charged, dismissed the notion, saying one can only be so charged
02:26if the infringement occurred on public property.
02:29Back in the Senate, James broadened the issue, highlighting the daily challenges faced by persons with disabilities, despite constitutional protections.
02:40There are times when inaccessible parking determines whether participation is possible at all.
02:57He pointed to barriers in education, employment, housing and public access, warning that exclusion carries a real economic cost.
03:08When persons with disabilities cannot access education, the country loses skilled workers.
03:15When they cannot access employment, the country loses productivity.
03:19When accessibility is not built into infrastructure, retrofitting, putting a ramp after, there's a cost to that.
03:30And that's because of the afterthought.
03:32Inclusion is not charity, Mr. President.
03:36Inclusion is also economics.
03:38Urvishit Awari Ruknarain, TV6 News.
