By: Shannon Kinch
With generous funding from Law Foundations in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Ontario, as well as the support of various volunteers and collaborators, including McInnes Cooper LLP, Pro Bono Students Canada, the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia (LISNS), the Public Legal Information Association of NL (PLIAN), and the Canadian Bar Association’s New Brunswick Branch, CNIB is bringing the Know Your Rights project to Atlantic Canada.
Having originated in Ontario, Know Your Rights is a project that is designed to educate and empower people who are blind, partially sighted or Deafblind to better understand their rights, navigate their provincial legal systems, and self-advocate to challenge discrimination. This is done through the development of plain language resources, including legal information handbooks, public education videos, and legal education workshops. 
The Atlantic Canada Know Your Rights projects will be rolled out during the week of December 3, 2022, in recognition of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Here’s a sneak peek of what we’ve been up to over the past little while and what’s to come:
- In July, CNIB staff and volunteers from all four Atlantic Canada provinces gathered in Halifax to film the Atlantic Canada series of the Know Your Rights public education videos.
- On July 11, 12 and 13, in-person legal information workshops took place in Moncton, Fredericton, and Charlottetown. These events were the first in-person Know Your Rights legal information workshops to be delivered since the start of the pandemic.
In the coming weeks and months, the Know Your Rights team will be delivering virtual legal education workshops in New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as a Continuing Professional Development Program to legal professionals across Atlantic Canada. Stay tuned for more updates and the big rollout in December 2022! For more information on the Know Your Rights project email knowyourrights@cnib.ca.