Mr. Speaker, World Sight Day will be celebrated on October 9 in over 100 countries, including right here on the steps of Parliament Hill.
With vision loss affecting 180 million worldwide, organizers of this year's World Sight Day on Parliament Hill are asking for greater support in combating the tragedy of avoidable blindness. It is estimated that 80% of the world's blindness is avoidable: either preventable or curable. In fact, both the causes and cures are known and we are even aware of what steps to take.
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind and its sister blindness organizations, both in Canada and worldwide, require our resources to ensure that blindness treatment and prevention are indeed a part of national health programs.
In Canada, the leading causes of blindness, which are macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts, are all age related. As the Canadian population ages, there will be a higher demand for resources to meet the needs of blind, visually impaired and deaf-blind Canadians.
I would therefore invite all of my colleagues to participate in World Sight Day activities planned for Thursday, October 9. Activities begin outside on the steps of Parliament Hill at 12:30 and are followed by a reception in the Commonwealth Room.