It’s hard to believe that in the year 2025, the rights of Canadians who are blind are still being challenged on a regular basis. Unfortunately, it’s all too true.
Imagine being turned down for a job because of your blindness, denied housing because of your guide dog, or excluded from school because your lessons weren’t accessible. These aren’t rare, isolated incidents – these are common realities affecting Canadians with sight loss every single day.
“As a person who is blind or has low vision, you’re constantly in the position to have to stand up for yourself,” says Larissa Proctor, Executive Director of CNIB Advocacy, who is blind herself. “It takes courage and resilience to be blind. We have to be our own advocates, our own champions.”
Thankfully, with the support of our donors and community, CNIB is there to help when the rights of our participants are violated.
Advocacy is empowerment
Here at CNIB, we believe that advocacy is a call to action. It’s how we build a more inclusive world – one conversation, one challenge, one victory at a time.
“A lot of people think ‘advocacy’ is a scary word, but we think it’s an exciting word,” says Larissa. “For CNIB, advocacy is about empowerment. It’s about helping people who are blind or who have low vision understand and exercise their rights.”
Wherever possible, our goal is to overcome advocacy issues through communication – by working alongside Canadians with sight loss to raise awareness, dispel misconceptions, and work cooperatively with those who have the power to enact change.
But sometimes talking just isn’t enough. That’s where our new legal support services come in.
Introducing CNIB’s legal support services
Fueled by our supporters, we recently launched CNIB’s legal support services, which are designed to remove barriers to justice for people whose rights have been violated because of blindness.
The program features two key components:
- Legal referrals: We provide participants with free, confidential referrals to legal services that align with their needs.
- Litigation grants: Our litigation fund gives eligible Canadians financial support to challenge inequities they’ve experienced because of blindness.
Although legal action should be a last resort, these services are poised to be a game-changer when traditional forms of advocacy aren’t enough to secure justice for the people we serve.
“Ultimately, this is about equity,” says Larissa Proctor. “One day, we’ll live in a world where people who are blind will no longer have to fight for equity. Until that day comes, CNIB is here to help.”
To learn more about CNIB’s legal support services, visit cnib.ca/legalsupport.