Mr. Speaker, I rise to propose to the House that all levels of government have a collective responsibility to raise awareness of vision health as every 12 minutes in Canada someone develops vision loss.
CNIB is promoting May 27 as Shade of Fun day because CNIB wants to make vision health awareness a priority for all Canadians. Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in Canada. One million Canadians have some form of AMD which can be significantly reduced by wearing sunglasses.
Seventy-five percent of vision loss is avoidable and yet only 9% of Canadians know that UV rays from the sun can harm their eyes. Eighty percent of Canadians said that they wear sunscreen to protect their skin from the sun but only 17% said they wear sunglasses to protect their eyes.
I encourage all members of the House to wear their sunglasses for the next few minutes to remind ourselves and all Canadians to look after their eyes.