What an amazing rally we had yesterday. Over 40 people joined together on the legislative grounds in Victoria BC to tell government and the public that blind people matter, that we must be heard. That we will no longer wait in silence and in isolation. A 75 per cent unemployment rate is far too high; an absence of intensive blindness skills training in this country is appalling; the lack of public funding and public accountability for rehabilitation and training of blind people is a disgrace.

It was an historic event for blind Canadians in Canada.

For the first time blind Canadians organized. We organized in a gathering of blind people to speak for ourselves. WE didn’t have an intermediary speaking on our behalf. We spoke for ourselves, and our message was loud and clear.

We want change. We want Choice. We want government to heed our voice!

And people did hear.

We received a wonderful message from Dr. Maurer, leader of the National Federation of the Blind, and from Jack Layton, leader of the Federal NDP party.

We received excellent coverage from local television and other media.

I want to thank those of you who made the time and the effort to stand in solidarity with us. Many of you traveled long distances to be there. We are grateful for your commitment.

I also want to thank those of you who couldn’t be with us, but who believed in the cause and sent your strength and support.

Thank you to all of the people who worked so hard to plan the event and who made the rally a success: my parents for their tireless support of my efforts in the Federation; Larry and Graeme for billeting our guests from out of town; Thelma, Joyce, Joanne, Christine and others who drove people to the event; Gail who made the signs, prepared the leaflet and other materials for the rally; Mary Ellen and Oriano for the calls they made to the media and other friends and members; Harold for taking the photographs; Erin for doing media interviews; Doris and Larry for handling the treasury; Paul for providing the rallying cry; the National Federation of the Blind for providing the inspiration of decades of civil rights action.

The list goes on.

The problem with mentioning specific names is that I am sure to forget someone.

Thank you to all of you who made the effort to come. Being there was the most important contribution you could make to this momentous occasion.

This is a time to be proud of ourselves on a personal level, and proud of what we are able to do when we join together as a collective of like-minded blind citizens. On February 15, we took a big step towards changing things for blind people in BC and in Canada; this is just the first of many steps we will take in the coming months.

Let us continue working towards our goal of getting people to training centres, and convincing government they must take notice and give blind people the basic rights of citizenship: the chance to earn a living, to experience complete independence and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to society. We must and we will take our places along our sighted peers and obtain true equality.

With love and respect,

Elizabeth Lalonde, President
Canadian Federation of the Blind
www.cfb.ca
PHONE: (250) 598-7154
TOLL-FREE: 1-800-619-8789
E-mail: info@cfb.ca
P.O. Box 8007
VICTORIA, BC V8W 3R7
Together we are changing what it means to be blind.