Proposition 51K2498

Projet de loi portant modification de la loi du 16 février 1954 relative à la protection de la canne blanche et abrogeant la loi du 4 juillet 1991 relative à la protection des malvoyants et à la reconnaissance de la "canne jaune".

General information ¶

Submitted by

PS | SP MR Open Vld Vooruit Purple Ⅰ

Submission date

May 18, 2006

Official page

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Status

Adopted

Requirement

Simple

Subjects

disabled person physically disabled

Voting ¶

Voted to adopt

CD&V Vooruit Ecolo LE PS | SP Open Vld N-VA MR FN VB

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Discussion ¶

July 13, 2006 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)

Full source

It is my duty as a rapporteur to report. As you have asked, I will ⁇ do this briefly.

The bill has two objects. On the one hand, there is the expansion of the award conditions for the white stick. On the other hand, there is the abolition of the yellow rod.

The extension of the award conditions for the blinds or white sticks is precisely necessary because the yellow sticks are abolished and to ensure that all persons who now use the yellow sticks can use the white sticks in the future.

The simplification came at the request of a number of associations. It was also developed with the cooperation of the associations. Several eye doctors were also involved in the development.

In the committee some questions were raised, because quite a few people had commented on the abolition of the yellow rod, precisely because those involved were afraid that they would be stigmatized by this. The yellow stick is used only in Belgium, but not in other European countries.

The Secretary of State confirmed in the committee that there will be a very clear communication and information campaign to ensure that the award conditions for the white stick are clarified. It will be pointed out that the white stick will be used not only by completely blind, but also by visually impaired people.

Important on that point is that the National High Council for Persons with Disabilities issued a unanimous, favorable opinion, which is among other reasons that the final bill was unanimously approved, after a number of technical observations and technical corrections made by several members of the committee.

Speakers in the general discussion are Mrs Cahay-André, Mr. Drèze and Mr. Goutry. Mr. Goutry, it would have surprised me if I had not seen you. Usually you start with the opposition.

I give the floor to Mrs Cahay, the Dean of our Assembly.

( ... ...

I do not remember anything at all! I make a note. You are doing well, Madame. Especially since you have experienced some health problems. On behalf of the room, I am very happy to see you in such good shape!

The Parliament keeps it. I say it for young people.

Thanks for the recommendation!

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Ministers, Mrs. Secretary of State, dear colleagues, we have examined in the Social Affairs Committee the bill extending the conditions under which a person with visual impairment can benefit from a white cane and abolishing the yellow cane law of 4 July 1991. This proposal was adopted unanimously.

Currently, two legislation co-exists concerning the blind and the visually impaired: that concerning the white cane, the blind and the yellow cane, the visually impaired. by

After consultation with various associations for the defense of blind and visually impaired persons, it appeared that in practice, the use of yellow cane is rare and little known. We had received emails about this and this new law should address the concerns of yellow cane users. The bill removes legislation on yellow cane and expands the conditions under which a person with visual impairment can benefit from white cane. by

The white cane will now be issued either in case of visual impairment of at least 60% or on the prescription of an authorized specialist in ophthalmology in rehabilitation. These provisions will allow the use of white cane by persons whose disability is less than 60%, but for whom the use of white cane is necessary in certain situations, such as in the evening or at night. The easing of the requirements for the benefit of the white cane will allow the users of the yellow cane, previously at the limit of the conditions for the benefit of the white cane, to obtain it and benefit from a more favourable regime.

I will insist on the fact that this is an easing of the conditions of obtaining the white cane. In addition, the white cane enjoys international recognition, which is not the case with the yellow cane. It was therefore essential to harmonize our legislation in order to ensure effective protection of visually impaired persons. by

I would like to congratulate the Secretary of State for her work. by

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Ministers, Mrs. Secretary of State, dear colleagues, as the draft has been approved unanimously in the committee, I assume that in the plenary session, it will meet the same unanimous welcome.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Minister, Mrs. Secretary of State, colleagues, I take the word especially to express our agreement with this proposal, because it means simplification.

Opinions sometimes differ, because some people are attached to the yellow stick. What is especially important is recognizability. After all, it is difficult for an outsider in the long run to know who should be helped in what way. From the Movement for Blind and Blind People, we have chosen to return to the original uniform system of the white stick, and we fully support that choice.

I will be brief. by

This project is unanimous and the CDH welcomes it, but we would be fulfilled if other promises of Ms. Secretary of State were fulfilled, for example in terms of family allowances and resorption of the back in the handling by its administration of requests for allowances for persons with disabilities and requests for parking cards.

Mr. Speaker, I and my group also consider it an advantage that there will be only one type of stick more. There is more clarity. You can immediately see that someone arrives with a white stick and then you know that you need to be careful so that those people are not in danger. On the other hand, in the committee, I also asked the Secretary of State to pay sufficient attention in the campaign to poor vision people who meet the criteria, because today there are still too many people who do not have a white stick and yet are poor vision. These people are a danger not only for themselves, but also for others in the traffic.

With the action that the Minister will put on foot, after this bill has been approved, we must try to remove the taboo sphere surrounding the use of the white stick. She said she will work on this in the coming months.

I just heard Mr. Massin talk about professional experience. You also have professional experience in another sector. Ms. Germans has the word.

I also welcome the adoption of this bill. I would like to cite previous professional experience to emphasize the importance of information.

For many years, I have helped people with disabilities lead their lives in an open environment. In this regard, I have accompanied non-sighted and visually impaired people. Among the latter, some had a yellow cane; they insisted heavily that people who saw them boarding a bus or wandering on a sidewalk knew they were seeing a little, hardly believing they were cheating.

The problem, of course, is that the Belgian citizen does not perceive the difference between a yellow and a white cane. He sees a cane. These expectations and concerns were in fact not met. What is going to happen is that indeed, a greater number of people will wander with a white cane while seeing a little and this may seem strange in the eyes of some citizens who will think that the person is pretended to be a blind.

Information to the public will be important so that all Belgians know that, among the people who use a white cane, some see badly enough to have to be helped. I just wanted to insist on this point in order to be sure of the existence of a collective cohesion around this provision that responds to a request from visually impaired persons.

Mr. Speaker, as the project indicates, it is following a request from the associations that take care of blind and visually impaired persons, that the conditions for granting the white cane to visually impaired persons are extended. People were taken into account who, on a psychological level, might wonder about the reason for a white cane while they still see a little.

It was found, at the level of Belgium, that the white cane was known, while the yellow cane was less. In addition, this cane has sometimes been associated with fashion phenomena. It was thought that people used the yellow cane, simply because they wanted it. It was poorly known. It is in this perspective that at the level of the information campaign, I will extend this campaign to all the target audiences: people with vision, people with visual impairment and people with visual impairment.

The campaign will focus on these elements. We have worked with the Minister of Mobility, the associations, the IBSR to see what is the best way to conduct an information campaign aimed at all audiences. Work is ongoing.

Today we look at the bill repealing, in particular, the law on the recognition of yellow cane and extending the conditions for granting white cane to visually impaired persons.

I know that the processing time of the files is still quite long, but I am working on this issue. Since my arrival in the department, the deadline has been reduced to about seven and a half months when it was previously twelve months. Some work has already been done, but it continues.