Full funding sought to rehabilitate the blind

Hoffman says government willing to consider charity’s position

The Canadian Institute for the Blind is pushing Premier Rachel Notley’s NDP government to fully fund rehabilitation programs for the visually impaired that are currently provided by the charity.

The CNIB receives $ 1.6 million from the provincial government to fund programs designed to help people who go blind or experience severe vision loss, but spokesman Jung- Suk Ryu said that covers only about 30 per cent of the cost.

It’s an unacceptable double standard, said Ryu, considering the provincial health- care system provides rehabilitation for people who suffer strokes or spinal injuries.

“But when people get a diagnosis ( of vision loss), they get sent to a charity,” Ryu said.

CNIB programs help people who are blind or losing their vision to adjust and live independently, by teaching them skills like performing household tasks and learning to navigate streets and public transit.

The CNIB estimates it would cost the provincial government an additional $ 3 million to fully fund rehabilitation for approximately 53,000 Albertans who are blind or have partial sight. Right now, the CNIB makes up that shortfall through support from private donors, said Ryu.

“The common question from funders is, ‘ What is the government doing?’” he said.

Health Minister Sarah Hoffman praised the CNIB’s efforts and said the government is willing to consider the agency’s position.

“I would be happy to hear more about what the CNIB is proposing in terms of additional supports that could benefit their stakeholders,” she said in a written statement provided to the Herald.

Although the CNIB has historically been the organization that has provided programs for people who are blind or have partial vision loss, Ryu said the charity’s campaign isn’t a push for more funding for its own coffers: the main aim is to have the government fully fund rehabilitation for people with vision loss, regardless of whether it’s delivered by the CNIB or Alberta Health Services facilities.

“It’s a philosophical argument,” he said.

Quebec is the only province that fully funds rehabilitation services for people with vision loss, Ryu said, with the remainder of jurisdictions providing a “hodgepodge” of coverage that ranges between 80 and 90 per cent in Atlantic Canada to less than 10 per cent in B. C.

During Alberta’s recent election campaign, the CNIB launched a social media campaign to raise awareness of the issue and canvassed candidates across the province for their positions. Several candidates said they supported fully funding rehabilitation programs for the blind and visually impaired, including Lethbridge- West MLA Shannon Phillips, who is a cabinet minister in the NDP government.

“Rightfully, these services ought to be brought within the umbrella of medicare,” Phillips said during an all- candidates’ forum recorded by CNIB supporters. The CNIB is keeping up the pressure following the election with a new website, Commitments-Matter. ca, encouraging Albertans to write to their MLAs and ask for full funding.

The CNIB estimates the number of Albertans with severe vision loss will increase approximately 30 per cent in the next decade. In that light, fully funding rehabilitation programs should be viewed as an investment, rather than simply an expense, said Ryu.

“Rehabilitation is essential in helping people with vision loss regain their independence,” he said.

I would be happy to hear more about what the CNIB is proposing in terms of additional supports that could benefit their stakeholders.