Victoriaville mall elevators cause physiotherapy patients trouble

Broken elevators are a barrier for people seeking services at the Victoriaville Physiotherapy Centre in Thunder Bay.

Patients of the centre located on the ground floor of the Victoriaville Mall, use the parkade elevators to get to and from appointments, but according to physiotherapist Tony Tassone, the elevator situation has caused issues.

"A few of them are cancelling their appointment or not showing up for their important appointments because of the elevator situation," said Tassone.

The problem comes in the midst of a province-wide elevator workers strike that has lasted five weeks.

"It creates a lot more stress for them. They have the stress from the physical injury and now they have the stress from being able to get to their appointment," said Tassone.

Patrick Moran, a spokesperson for the province's elevator companies said the strike is not a significant factor in this case.

He says the delay in fixing the Victoriaville parkade elevators is due to a wait for a replacement part.

"With the limited street parking, they’re scrambling to look for parking spots, which makes it difficult for them to walk from their vehicle to the clinic," said Tassone.

According to the clinic staff, the mall's other elevator has been out of service since January.