To begin with, I'd like to clarify the issues that we're dealing with when it comes to three specific areas, culture, education, and rehabilitation.
As far as culture is concerned, in Quebec, the Service québécois du livre adapté, which is part of the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales, provides all users with access to documents in braille and in other alternative media formats. The new code has changed the way producers do things. The Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille is a producer. Mr. Côté, who's absent today, is also a braille producer. The new formatting rules now apply to the layout of braille documents to which blind persons have access. So he'll have to make some organizational changes to his processes and practices. That's one of the first cultural issues at stake.
In terms of education, the new code will be adopted as of the first year of primary school and so it will affect young children. I referred earlier to changes to figures. Those concerned will now have to use the new layout code.
Of course, we are expecting a transition period. Students currently at CEGEP or university will still have access to 1955 or 1996 braille documents, which is what they know. Ultimately, in 10 years time, all users will use the same code. So that's another issue.
When it comes to production and textual adaptation, we are foreseeing an overlap for time where various codes will be used in the layout of documents.
As far as rehabilitation is concerned, to begin with we had to review our rehabilitation tool, in other words the way we teach braille. For Grade I braille, we worked over the course of last year with the Association des établissements de réadaptation en déficience visuelle au Québec. We mandated a committee, which I also look after, to review braille teaching methods based on the new code's new rules. At the same time, we worked on pre-braille, in other words getting used to exploring true touch prior to actually learning braille per say.
Rehabilitation is another issue. It involves training and awareness building. Documents will be disseminated based on the new code as of September 2009. So we have to make our clientele aware of the new changes they'll come across in their daily reading.