January 9, 2006

News Release

Canadian Federation of the Blind Announces A Victory for Blind Canadians.

If you’re a blind person living in Victoria, you no longer have to go to the CNIB to get a bus pass.

“Many people might ask ‘What’s the big deal?’ But being able to go directly to BC Transit to get our bus pass means our dignity,” says Elizabeth Lalonde, President of the Canadian Federation of the Blind, (the Federation), a movement of organized blind people committed to the equality and empowerment of blind Canadians.

The CNIB, a private charity, delivers many public services to blind Canadians, a situation many blind people feel is inappropriate and which has resulted in years of frustrating attempts to improve freedom of choice.

BC Transit has an agreement with the CNIB that allows CNIB to distribute the pass to blind people. According to the Federation, both parties failed to adequately consult with the blind community regarding this issue, and this lack of consultation has alienated many blind citizens.

“The use of charities by public corporations denies basic rights such as freedom of association and stifles consumer choice,” says Graeme McCreath, Federation member and blindness activist. “The CNIB does not represent the opinions of blind citizens, and it is not our caretaker.”

With the support of the BC Human Rights Coalition head, David Turner, Federation members negotiated with BC Transit to alter a long-standing agreement with CNIB, so blind people in Victoria could get the transit pass directly from the Crown Corporation.

Lalonde refers to the freedom of association clause in the Charter of Rights, which states that people cannot be forced to join an organization.

“Progress in such basic rights is slow to come for blind Canadians,” says Lalonde. “However, this bus pass represents a milestone that should give others hope for making further changes.

Blind citizens in Victoria can now get this new B Series bus pass directly from BC Transit. The process involves picking up a form from the BC Transit office or getting it on line, and getting an ophthalmologist’s signature declaring legal blindness. Once BC Transit receives the signed form, a transit official will set up an appointment to take the person’s photograph and issue a pass. The pass costs $25 for five years, ($5 per year).

Many blind people have always disliked going to CNIB to get a bus pass. The situation grew worse when in January 2005, the CNIB announced a decision it reached with transit to discard the transit pass and instead use the CNIB national ID card as the official bus pass for blind people. CNIB and transit adopted this new approach without adequately consulting blind Canadians.

Another issue of concern was the fee CNIB used to charge blind people for the bus pass. The charity took what was a free pass, and required its clients to pay to receive it.

“It wasn’t the money that bothered us. It was the principle, the idea that a so-called charity was making money off the blind people it was purporting to help,” says McCreath.

Though CNIB removed the fee this year, the distastefulness remains.

For more information about the new bus pass or the history surrounding it, or about the Federation, please contact:

Elizabeth Lalonde, president
Canadian Federation of the Blind
Phone (250) 598-7154
1-800-619-8789
info@cfb.ca

or

Graeme Mccreath, Federation member and long-time activist on this issue
(250) 479-5112 or (250) 479-2679
Canadian Federation of the Blind
www.CFB.ca
P.O. Box 8007
Victoria, British Columbia
Canada V8W 3R7