The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.The printed version remains the official version.

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official report of DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (hansard)
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

Afternoon Sitting
Routine Business
Introductions by Members

L. Popham: I have ten guests to introduce today. Nine of them are part of our 13,000 blind people in B.C. The other guest is a guide dog named Hilly. It’s Meet the Blind Month in October, so I would like you to meet Elizabeth Lalonde, Jeff Lalonde, Erin Lacharity, Miriam Yusefi, Oriano Belusic, Doris Belusic, Shane Baker, Frederick Driver and Kyla Berry. Please make them feel welcome.
Statements

(Standing Order 25B)
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING
OF BLIND PEOPLE IN B.C.

L. Popham: Members of the Canadian Federation of the Blind have joined us in the House today to help me announce that October is Meet the Blind Month. Given proper training and opportunity, people who are blind can work in competitive jobs, pay taxes and participate fully in community life.

However, because of lack of proper training and opportunity, the unemployment rate of blind people is exceeding 80 percent. There are approximately 13,000 legally blind people in B.C. Among those people, there are approximately 3,000 to 4,000 working-age blind.
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One huge barrier to blind people getting ahead is that there is no publicly accountable funding for their rehabilitation in this province. There is funding in the system for persons with mental and physical disabilities to receive rehabilitation, but this does not exist for persons who are blind. If you became blind, where would you go for training in essential blindness skills?

There are three highly successful world-renowned blindness immersion centres in the United States. Elizabeth Lalonde, one of our guests today, has received a $45,000 grant from the National Federation of the Blind sister organization in the United States to attend one of these training centres. She will be leaving tomorrow for nine months of intensive training.

This type of training and funding we should be offering in British Columbia. It is essential blindness immersion training.

Elizabeth has joined us today with three other blind British Columbians who want and need to go to this type of centre. Their names are Shane Baker, Miriam Yusefi and Erin Lacharity. They need to go as soon as possible so that they can get the skills they need for life and employment. Rehabilitation is a right, it is a necessity, and it is the only humane answer to the problems faced by blind British Columbians.