Mr. Speaker, March 6 to 12 is Vision Awareness Week in Canada. Its theme, "Good Vision and Literacy: There is a Clear Connection", is timely. Canada faces a staggering 25 per cent rate of illiteracy.
One of the major roadblocks standing between citizens and their ability to read is poor vision. Since one in six children has a vision problem and since at least 80 per cent of learning is visual, early detection of vision problems becomes an important part of preventing illiteracy.
Let us work to make certain all of Canada's citizens are literate for this wondrous information age.
With literacy comes access to information, employment and prosperity. If Canada is to realize its vision of a prosperous future it must ensure that in the future its people have good vision.