Two theatregoers who use wheelchairs were forced to watch an outdoor play from behind a fence last weekend because the public venue in Gatineau isn't accessible.

On Saturday, Caroline Leblond and her friend arrived at Quai des Artistes, a recently refurbished wharf on Jacques-Cartier Street, only to discover the riverfront venue doesn't have a wheelchair ramp.

That meant they and their friends could only see the show from a significant distance away.

"We watched from behind the wire fence," said Leblond in French. "It was like we were shut in a pen."

She assumed event organizers were required to make the play accessible, but the venue was not.

"It's like they're laughing at us," Leblond said. "It's like it's not a big deal if it's not accessible."

Leblond and her friends had to watch the play from behind this fence. (Radio Canada)

'I was devastated, really'

Marie-Pier Renaud said her two friends in wheelchairs were treated like a second-class citizens.

"It was so bad," said Renaud. "I was devastated, really."

Quai des Artistes is a gathering place for passengers boarding sightseeing boats on the Gatineau and Ottawa rivers. The wharf is also home to a weekly play about the history of Gatineau.

​In 2016, Gatineau spent $1.7 million renovating the wharf to address structural problems.

But after the work was complete, the only way to the dock area where the play takes place is down a set of stairs.

Caroline Leblond shows a Radio-Canada reporter that the only way to the dock area is down a flight of stairs. (Radio Canada )

'We need a ramp'

Leblond and her friends want temporary wooden ramps installed until the city can come up with a permanent solution. They also want at least one person with a disability to be consulted before similar public projects in Gatineau.

Monique Beaudoin, director general of a group pushing for better accessibility in the Outaouais, ​said the group never saw plans for Quai des Artistes until shovels were in the ground. Had they been consulted, they would have demanded a ramp, Beaudouin said.

"We need a ramp," she said. "An evaluation should be done."

In a statement to Radio Canada, the City of Gatineau said there are plans to make the site more accessible in 2019, including a ramp.

Leblond said she won't return to the site until she can watch an outdoor play alongside everyone else.