We held our second Canadian Federation of the Blind convention on May 4-5 in Victoria, British Columbia, at Traveller’s Inn – City Center. The convention represented a “moving forward” for members in our thinking about blindness and the abilities of blind people, as well as a “moving forward” in the organization’s development.

We were honoured to welcome Dr. Marc Maurer, President of our sister organization, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) in the United States and his wife Mrs. Patricia Maurer, Community Relations Director at the NFB National Centre and long-time Federation leader. Dr. Maurer and Mrs. Maurer travelled all the way from Baltimore, Maryland to be with us. Dr. Maurer positively and profoundly impacted the convention with his exceptional ability as a speaker and diplomat and his vast experience as a blindness advocate and leader of the largest most influential movement of blind people in the world. Mrs. Maurer contributed enormously to the event with her grace, warmth and intelligence.

The convention began with a welcome reception for Dr. Maurer and Mrs. Maurer on the evening of Friday, May 4. This event gave people a chance to talk with each other and with the Maurers informally and provided an upbeat start to the convention. We were honoured to welcome Dr. Basil Boulton, Esquimalt city councillor at the reception.

On Saturday, May 5, the Canadian Federation of the Blind “Moving Forward” convention opened with an Introduction by Canadian Federation of the Blind founder and MC, Dr. Paul Gabias, and a traditional First Nations Welcome by the Esquimalt Youth Singers and Dancers.

President Elizabeth Lalonde introduced the theme of the convention with her speech, “Moving Forward: The Direction of the Canadian Federation of the Blind”. Vice-president, Mary Ellen Gabias, made a speech about the Federation – its philosophy of blindness, its goals and how it differs from other blindness organizations in Canada.

Dr. Paul Gabias introduced a panel discussion entitled “A Common-Sense Approach to Cane Travel: The Long White Cane and the Federation”. He talked about learning to problem solve when traveling and the independence gained from using a long white cane, as well as the Canadian Federation of the Blind white cane walks, in which blind people meet to walk together and practice travel skills.

One of our newer members, Trevor Jones, talked about his experience traveling independently after meeting the Federation.

Frederick Driver, a longtime supporting member of the Canadian Federation of the Blind, delivered a speech “Shades of Meaning: The Perspective of a Sighted Federationist Traveling with Sleep Shades”. In this speech, Rick talked about his positive experience attending white cane walks with blind members, and the idea that much of traveling independently with a white cane involves the knowledge that it is possible.

Two of our newer members, Shane Baker and Nancy Gill, made moving presentations about their experience at the National Federation of the Blind convention last summer in Dallas, Texas.

Blind parents discussed their experiences raising children in a panel called “Blind Parents: Good Parenting Has Nothing To Do With Sight”. Mary Ellen and Paul Gabias, blind parents of four children, began with a talk called “The Proof is in the Pudding: The Federation Philosophy is Alive and Well in Our Family”. Paul and Mary Ellen shared humorous and enlightening stories. Elizabeth Lalonde, mother of a three-year-old with another on the way, made a speech called “A Simple Secret, A New Understanding: A Blind Mother’s Experience with a Premature Infant”, in which she talked about the challenges of having a child born three months early and weighing less than two pounds.

Before breaking for lunch, honoured guests, Dr. Marc Maurer and Mrs. Maurer spoke. Dr. Maurer presented us with a Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader, a revolutionary portable reading machine, produced jointly by the National Federation of the Blind and Kurzweil Technologies Inc. We are overwhelmed by Dr. Maurer’s generosity and will make sure word gets out about this amazing piece of technology.

In the afternoon, Mary Ellen Gabias facilitated a session on the employment and independence of blind Canadians. In this session, speakers discussed the greater than 80 percent unemployment rate of blind people in Canada, and the Federation’s ideas for positive change in the areas of rehabilitation and employment.

We were honoured to hear from three special guests: Mr. David Cubberley, MLA for Saanich South; David Turner, Former Mayor of Victoria, Professor of Social Work at the University of Victoria and human rights activist; and Dr. Abebe Teklu, who recently completed his PHD at UVic on the topic of the high unemployment of disabled immigrants in Canada.

Graeme McCreath, longtime member of the Canadian Federation of the Blind, made a speech entitled “A Blueprint for Autonomy and Social Independence: A Pragmatic Approach”, in which he discussed the importance of breaking away from the traditional charity model and taking charge of our lives as blind people.

Frederick Driver read a statement written by Dr. Paul Gabias, blind father, about the negative CNIB public service ad campaign. The statement discussed how the ad mocks blind people and how the campaign personally affected the Gabias family in a negative way.

Oriano Belusic, past president of the Canadian Federation of the Blind, talked about “Bridging Employment Barriers: Specific Actions that Make a Difference”, in which he discussed how employment for blind Canadians has grown worse over the last 20 years, and suggested specific ways to improve this situation.

Mary Ellen Gabias provided additional context about the rehabilitation and employment situation for blind people in Canada and introduced the employment panel, in which blind people talked about their jobs and careers.

Dr. Marc Maurer, lawyer and NFB leader, kicked off the panel with an upbeat talk about his many job experiences and the importance of being creative when thinking about job prospects.

Kyla Berry, undergraduate student at the University of Victoria, discussed her experiences looking for summer jobs and provided excellent tips for people seeking employment.

David Boyce, who traveled from Ontario to be with us, talked about his position as Program Coordinator for the Georgianwood Concurrent Disorders Program, Mental Health Centre, in Penetanguishene, Ontario.

Graeme McCreath, spoke about his work as co-owner and physiotherapist at Royal Oak Physio in Victoria.

Dr. Paul Gabias, Psychology professor at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan, talked about his career as a professor and his network marketing business.

Those who still felt energetic went on a white cane walk. The rest of the people took a break before the banquet.

At the banquet that evening, people relaxed, ate good food, sang Federation songs and talked with each other. The evening ended with a phenomenal speech delivered by Dr. Marc Maurer. Dr. Maurer captivated the audience with his eloquent, humorous and powerful words.

Members of the Canadian Federation of the Blind would like to thank many people and organizations for their support of our convention.

We thank CHTV and CFAX radio for their excellent coverage of our event.

We also give a special thanks to the following sponsors who helped make this convention a success:

National Federation of the Blind, United States of America
Victoria Imperial Lions Club, Victoria, BC
First Nations Training & Consulting Services, Victoria, BC
Traveller’s Inn, City Centre, Douglas Street, Victoria, BC
Team Sales, Victoria, BC
South Island Print Services, Sidney, BC
United Food & Commercial Workers, Vancouver, BC
Old Orchard Medical, Vancouver, BC
Burrard Autostrasse Collision, Vancouver, BC

Thank you also to the following sponsors who donated door prizes for the convention.

Save On Foods, Vancouver, BC
Nissan Morrey, Vancouver, BC
Avon Products, Vancouver, BC
Delaney’s Pub, formally Great Bear Pub, Burnaby, BC
Rogers Chocolates, Victoria, BC
Rogers Video, Burnaby, BC
Superstore, Vancouver, BC

Finally a big thank you to the Canadian Federation of the Blind executive and members for their diligence and hard work in organizing this event.

We all look forward to next year’s convention.