Thank you.
Before I start, I would just like to explain how I'm going to do this presentation since I can't read print. I am partially sighted, hence the dog at my feet. I'm using a talking computer and I have an earphone in my ear. It will be reading out loud to me what I'm saying afterwards. If I stumble, I apologize.
On behalf of CNIB, I would like to thank the Minister of Finance, the finance committee, and the federal government for their continued leadership and support of the development of equitable library services for Canadians with print disabilities as part of its 2013 economic action plan. An estimated 10% of Canadians have a print disability, and only 6% of published works are available in alternate formats. Canadians with print disabilities include people who are blind or partially sighted, like myself, people with impairments related to comprehension, and people who are unable to hold a book. For Canadians with print disabilities, access to reading material in alternative formats increases literacy, encourages lifelong learning, and improves opportunities for employment and community engagement.
When I was doing my master's degree at Royal Roads University, I was required to do a proposal for a research project. I was excited to find a book written by a Canadian author called, Seeing Beyond Blindness. This book was all about teaching and education, from birth to grave, of blind and partially sighted people. Interestingly, the book was not available in an alternate format. It took me four weeks to receive the book in an alternate format, three weeks after my paper was due. It significantly affected my education.
Access to materials and alternate formats improves quality of life for Canadians, including seniors with print disabilities. It prolongs their ability to enjoy leisure reading and supports their social engagement. In Pigeon Lake, Alberta, not far from where I live in Edmonton, there is a man named Gary. Gary is 80 years old and a good friend of mine. Pigeon Lake is not close to a city and there is no public transportation. Gary is totally blind and although he uses a computer, downloading books is very difficult. Gary relies on receiving his books in DAISY format on a CD in order to listen to books, and that is his chief form of entertainment. Typically, once a week, somebody will go and pick Gary up and take him to town, but other than that, his main source of entertainment, leisure, and interaction is with the books that are provided to him with the DAISY player.
The funding set aside in Bill C-60 will support CNIB's work with public libraries and community leaders to progress towards the creation of a new organization, the national digital hub. This is independent of CNIB and it will support public libraries in their delivery of equitable public library services. The funding will also allow CNIB to acquire and produce, for the national digital hub, over 105,000 additional alternate format materials in e-text, DAISY, audio, CD, and e-books to navigate digital material and Braille. This new content, the CNIB Library's total collection, will be available to Canadians with print disabilities through public libraries, direct service points, and the web.
Once again, we thank the Government of Canada for its leadership and commitment to improving access to library services to Canadians with print disabilities in the 2013 economic action plan.
Thank you.