June 8, 2013
WHEREAS quality rehabilitation is essential if blind people are to achieve their potential for independence and self support, and
WHEREAS Canadians with physical disabilities currently receive publicly funded rehabilitation services as part of the medical system, but blind individuals are generally sent to the CNIB, a private agency which relies heavily on charitable contributions for its funding, and
WHEREAS the best rehabilitation for blind people has as its foundation the philosophy of blindness espoused and practiced by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and the Canadian Federation of the Blind (CFB), and
WHEREAS the most outstanding current examples of good, long term rehabilitation training anywhere in North America are the Louisiana Center for the Blind, the Colorado Center for the Blind, and Blind Incorporated in Minnesota, and
WHEREAS no program of comparable scope and quality exists anywhere in Canada,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Canadian Federation of the Blind (CFB) assembled this 8th day of June, 2013, in Victoria, British Columbia, that this organization re-affirm its stand that publicly funded quality blindness skills rehabilitation ought to be available to blind Canadians as a matter of right, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Canadian Federation of the Blind re-affirms its “Official Position Statement of the Canadian Federation of the Blind (CFB) Concerning Rehabilitation of Blind Canadians”, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Canadian Federation of the Blind, on every level, encourage the development of rehabilitation centres operated according to Federation philosophy and dedicated to partnership with the organized blind movement, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon the provinces and the federal government to fully fund comprehensive rehabilitation of the blind and affirm the right of each blind person to choose the rehabilitation program that best suits his or her needs, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that until quality centres operated according to Federation philosophy are available in Canada, we call upon funding agencies to sponsor the attendance of blind Canadians at the Colorado Center for the Blind, the Louisiana Center for the Blind and BLIND Inc.