Mr. Speaker, I put on my glasses to say that tomorrow is World Sight Day, held annually to highlight the problem of global blindness and to raise awareness about the prevention and treatment of vision loss.
According to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, more than one in nine Canadians over 65 and one in four over 80 experience vision loss that cannot be corrected with lenses. Given these numbers, we must focus on ameliorating the condition of the blind in Canada.
The CNIB has made several recommendations in this regard. One of these is government support for the production and distribution of published print material for the blind or visually impaired.
The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of blindness could be prevented or cured. WHO's Vision 2020 campaign aims to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020, by providing measles immunization, cataract surgery, eyeglasses and other needed services.
I urge all parliamentarians to visit the websites of Vision 2020 and CNIB to understand what must be done to prevent blindness, improve the participation in Canadian society of the visually impaired and treat vision loss in Canada and abroad.