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But two months ago, unknown to most Vancouverites, their city council approved another world-beating measure: Rejection of the common doorknob.

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“We’re not too proud of that, but we’re working on it,” said John Ford, then acting regional director of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, whose staff had to move because their accessibility standards were so low. “A doorknob can create havoc for a person with limited use of their hands.”

It was a prescient observation. Today, doorknobs are joining incandescent lightbulbs as a primary example of outdated and vaguely wicked technology that Canadian governments are seeking to eradicate — in one case for their carbon footprint, in the other for the obstacle they pose to the disabled.

Halifax, once a laggard in accessibility, is shaping up to be a leader in the purge of round doorknobs, as a city councillor brings a motion to examine how building codes and municipal bylaws could be changed to discourage the use of doorknobs. It follows a similar move in Vancouver that comes into force in March.

“We’ve been looking at a variety of different mechanisms to see what we can do to improve accessibility within the [Halifax Regional Municipality],” said Councillor Jennifer Watts.

A main change, she said, would be to eliminate doorknobs from newly built houses, in favour of the more ergonomically friendly lever.

Ms. Watts said the idea has been on the agenda for a while, but the specific request arose after a recent meeting with Halifax’s manager of municipal compliance about accessibility and the Nova Scotia building code.