Charity pushes Alberta government to fully fund rehabilitative vision care

WATCH ABOVE: The CNIB says its current funding model is an “unacceptable double standard.” Su-Ling Goh explains why.

EDMONTON — CNIB is asking the public to help push the province to provide full funding for rehabilitative vision care.

The charity – formerly known as the Canadian National Institute for the Blind – launched a social media and letter-writing campaign called “Commitments Matter” to hold the government to promises made during the provincial election.

CNIB says the New Democrats promised to fully fund and fully integrate rehabilitation for visually impaired Albertans.

These rehabilitation programs are currently provided by the charity. CNIB receives $1.6 million from the provincial government to fund the programs that help Albertans who go blind or have severe vision loss, but a spokesperson says that money only covers about 30 per cent.

“We want our newly-elected MLAs to know that commitments matter,” said JS Ryu, CNIB’s director of public affairs. “More importantly, we want them to know that rehabilitation matters and it’s vital for Albertans living with blindness or partial sight.”

“Hopefully, the new government will move quickly to fully fund essential rehabilitative programs and services for Alberta’s blind and partially-sighted population.”

The “Commitments Matter” website allows people to send an email or letter to their MLA. Part of the letter reads: “As your constituent, I am concerned that Albertans living with blindness or partial sight have to rely on a charity to access their primary rehabilitation. Just like rehabilitation to assist individuals who’ve suffered a stroke or a brain injury, vision loss rehabilitation can help the visually impaired live and travel independently in their homes and communities.”

In a statement, the minister of health Sarah Hoffman said:

“The CNIB should be commended for its continued advocacy efforts for the visually impaired. They brought this important conversation into the election and they are continuing to raise awareness about the strengths of Canadians who are blind or partially sighted, as well as the supports they need to fully participate in society.

“Human Services provides a number of programs for Albertans who are blind or partially sighted, but I would be happy to hear more about what the CNIB is proposing in terms of additional supports that could benefit their stakeholders.”

The Alberta Medical Association supports full funding for vision loss rehabilitation services.

“CNIB has historically provided all the services for vision loss in Alberta and they’ve done an excellent job of that, so I think, for that reason, the government has sort of just left it to them,” said Dr. Richard Johnston, AMA president.

“It’s becoming an ever-increasing burden, and I think it’s now time for government to accept the fact that treatment for vision loss is really a disability that requires the same sort of services and amounts of funding from government as other types of injury.”