Seeking an apology and a change in rules, a Guelph family plans to launch a human rights complaint over the treatment of a four-year-old girl at an indoor playground facility.
Matthew Dupuis says his daughter, Eloise, was told she couldn’t use the play structure at Funmazing due to the runners and braces she was wearing.
Eloise, who has cerebral palsy, uses that equipment for mobility.
Her parents say they were told Eloise could use everything at Funmazing except the indoor play structure.
Funmazing’s director, Gio Salgo, says the decision was made due to the facility’s “socks-only” policy.
“We want to ensure that other children aren’t injured by contact … but more importantly, we do that to ensure that a child doesn’t get caught and injured themselves sliding around on the equipment,” he said in an email.
Similar policies are in place at “every single indoor playground that we know of,” Salgo said.
Once the story was shared on social media, it garnered a large and passionate reaction.
By late afternoon, a Facebook status posted by Matthew Dupuis had been shared more than 3,000 times.
“To have all the support … made me feel better, and not alone,” he told CTV News.
As for Eloise, she was able to get inside a different facility – Bingemans Funworx in Kitchener – with no issue.
