Thank you very much for having me here this afternoon.
My name is Edward Faruzel. I'm the executive director of a non-profit agency called KW Access Ability. Our agency serves adults with physical disabilities, so we're serving similar situations to Ms. Bilodeau, but not quite the same.
People with physical disabilities make up approximately 15% of the population. We feel this number is probably a little on the low side, because that is with people who have self-disclosed that they have a physical disability. With the aging population, that number is only going to increase, so it's important these people's needs are being met. I want to thank you for allowing me to be here to voice their concerns.
The biggest concerns that our members are facing are with the community boxes and the difficulty in accessing them. Many people using wheelchairs or walkers have difficulty getting out of their house sometimes, especially in the wintertime. Accessing these community boxes can be quite hazardous, so they felt it was important for the door-to-door service to continue. The need of five days a week is probably not quite as important to them, but just having it come right to their door was definitely high on their priority list.
Many people with physical disabilities rely on somebody else to help them, such as personal support workers, and having mail delivered to their doors makes it much easier for them. They can have their support workers help them with it, and they don't have to send somebody to go out and receive it for them. It's a safety concern and also a privacy issue, sending somebody to go and retrieve their mail for them. Who knows what could happen to it on the way back.
I don't want to take up too much more of your time, but I am also available if anyone has any questions.