Official Languages Committee on Feb. 24th, 2009

[Tommy Théberge]

Currently they use numbered templates. A number appears on a plastic template. I have not experienced that myself. We have numbers; not the names of the candidates. Obviously, you have to know what to check off. There may be some thing to look into. It would have been a good idea to produce the ballots in braille. In an ideal world, a person could then vote alone and independently, instead of having to use the template.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Théberge.

We will now complete our second round with Mr. Gravelle, from the NDP.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good morning, Mr. Théberge.

A project such as yours must be quite costly. I know you receive government funding, but do you have any other sources of funding?

[Tommy Théberge]

No, none whatsoever.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

How much does your project cost, approximately?

[Tommy Théberge]

Which project are you referring to?

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Braille standardization.

[Tommy Théberge]

Well—

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Pardon the interruption, but I would like to raise a point of procedure. I'd like to point out that Mr. Gravelle is an associate member of the committee and that we require consent from the colleagues for him to ask questions in Mr. Godin's place.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Chair, I have a point of order. All parties agreed that in cases when one extra person attends a committee meeting, this person could take some of the time allotted to a regular committee member to ask questions. That said, this person does not have the right to vote, regardless of which political party he or she belongs to. All whips have agreed to this.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

You could ask your whip to bring you up to speed. I'm sorry for the interruption.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

I think that if Mr. Godin has been replaced by someone else, then he has to withdraw from the committee. We cannot simply add members to the committee in random fashion.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Alright, thank you.

Mr. Rodriguez would like to speak to this topic.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

I would not want us to be steered away from today's debate, which I think is very important. I think we'll have to deal with that matter next time around.

Mr. Godin, no one was advised of this. I do not object to having Mr. Gravelle take part in today's discussion. I would really not want us to get off topic. However, we should get back to that issue later.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

This is what I would suggest. Once we have finished questioning the witness, we will be discussing committee business. That is when we can then address this matter and continue on.

If there are no further comments, we will continue as agreed, and address this matter later on.

I'm sorry. I would like to remind you, Mr. Théberge, that you are here within a partisan setting with representatives of the people.

On that note, let's move on. Mr. Gravelle, you have another 4 minutes and 28 seconds.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Théberge, approximately how much does your project cost?

[Tommy Théberge]

The question is not quite clear. A number of initiatives have been discussed this morning, including adapting documents and the CBFU.

For instance, with respect to the metro stations braille adaptation project I carried out for our users based on STM plans, the costs are in the order of $50,000. This project was funded by the Fondation de l'Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille. So, the project received no public funding. I submitted a request for funding to the institute's foundation, which financially supported the project.

In actual fact, this should be a public initiative. The access to public buildings initiative, in this case metro stations, should have been put to public tender, in which case, it should have come from the STM and, ultimately, from the Department of Transport.

Take for instance a project that would involve all museums in Canada. Because it would be related to culture, I would imagine that Canadian Heritage would have overall responsibility for the project. The department could then solicit bids to have site plans adapted into a tactile form. As a result, a blind person attending museums could access these documents.

When I went to Paris in January, at the Louvre, the Pantheon and the Sainte-Chapelle, they had taken measures to improve facilities and access measures to give us a good understanding of where we were located. It was well done.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Very well, thanks.

Do you also receive support from the provinces for your projects?

[Tommy Théberge]

No, we do not. This falls within the purview of the Quebec Department of Health.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

In the other provinces, such as Ontario, is assistance provided?

[Tommy Théberge]

I know that the Ministry of Education pays for documents produced for students in alternative format. With respect to the public sector, I'm not in a position to answer that question.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you very much.

[Tommy Théberge]

The CNIB could probably answer these questions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Gravelle.

Can I find a copy of Harry Potter produced in Grade II braille?

[Tommy Théberge]

We produced a version this fall, my friend.