MELFORT 鈥� Social Services Minister Paul Merriman recognized Melfort resident Cadence Flaata as a junior minister.
She was presented the title for October being the month of inclusion in Saskatchewan.
鈥淪o we were contacted by our local MLA [Todd Goudy] and asked if we would be interested in going down and going to the legislative building and take part in the proceedings,鈥� said Cadence鈥檚 dad, Darren Flaata. 鈥淲e actually didn鈥檛 know she would be presented that.鈥�
Cadence has cerebral palsy caused by complications at birth. As a result she relies heavily on parents and caregivers for everyday tasks, using an iPad that is set up for her to communicate through and operates a power chair with her head.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in the public eye quite a bit and we鈥檙e always trying to advocate and promote awareness [for disabilities in Saskatchewan] and I think it was a good way for them to also do the same,鈥� Darren said.
Cadence was recognized on Oct. 29 in the Legislative Assembly.
Junior minister is an honorary title that does not come with any special privileges or power.
聽鈥淲e鈥檝e adopted a model of 鈥榥o limits鈥�,鈥� Darren said. 鈥淪o in our family we do quite a bit of stuff to make her life a lot better and the same as everyone else鈥檚.鈥�
According to Darren there are still many hurdles for society to overcome for disabled people.
鈥淏eing that it鈥檚 the month of inclusion there are still a lot of hurdles out there that we need to overcome and hopefully by us living the way our life is, maybe leading by example other people can follow suit by it.鈥�
Accessibility is one of those hurdles.
鈥淎ccessibility is still a big thing. There are a lot of places we can鈥檛 partake in and go just because they are not accessible,鈥� Darren said. 鈥淎s a family for us, there is not always everything we can partake in just because accessibility.鈥�
Another is finance.
鈥淔inance is always a huge thing for families, trying to care for a person with a disability. So there is probably a lot more I could in time think of, but those are some of the huge ones.鈥�
Darren said it was a great honour for the family for Cadence to be presented the title.
鈥淚t was a pretty great honour to be involved in that and just to go to our legislative building and get to go on kind of a tour.鈥�
