Official Languages committee  Which project are you referring to?

Official Languages committee  Well—

Official Languages committee  No, none whatsoever.

Official Languages committee  It isn't always obvious, there are a number of intermediaries.

Official Languages committee  You raise a good point. I have often seen braille on bus doors. Louis-Braille numbers identify the door number. However, it could take a long time for a blind person to find these numbers on a door. The conventions are not quite in place yet as to where the braille would be located.

Official Languages committee  Currently they use numbered templates. A number appears on a plastic template. I have not experienced that myself. We have numbers; not the names of the candidates. Obviously, you have to know what to check off. There may be some thing to look into. It would have been a good idea to produce the ballots in braille.

Official Languages committee  In France, the new code has been in use for the last two or three years. It has had the greatest impact on producers, those who are responsible for braille transcription rather than on readers, because readers are taught how to read the document. There may not have been any studies done.

Official Languages committee  In my opinion, the work should continue at its normal pace because the process is already under way. Where the impact of the economic crisis might be felt is in the area of requests to access to documents. Users could be denied access to documents at various levels, because of budgetary issues.

Official Languages committee  Funding is indeed a major issue. Earlier, I briefly talked about the Service québécois du livre adapté, the Quebec service for book adaptation. Currently, in Quebec, there is a centralized alternative format portal that people can use to request audio transcripts and braille transcripts.

Official Languages committee  As far as Grade II braille is concerned, yes.

Official Languages committee  However, there are not enough advertisements or posters. But that's another issue.

Official Languages committee  There is a link between the standardization of braille and quality of life. Often, when a person loses his sight, one of the first things he needs to “tackle“ is finding a way to resume his regular daily activities. These people are just starting out and must learn new ways of doing things.

Official Languages committee  You've brought up an interesting point. Take, for example, elevator advertisements. Under the standardized French braille code, the Louis-Braille code is to be used for all advertisements posted in public places. Therefore, even though the Antoine figures are used in written texts, prepared documents, etc., a francophone living in Quebec, Ontario or British Columbia will still be able to recognize the same figures in public places.

Official Languages committee  September 2009 was our target date for Grade I braille. With respect to Grade II braille, the committee of experts has already met. At the beginning of January, I had the opportunity to be involved in celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, in Paris.

Official Languages committee  In the francophone community, Quebec assumes a leadership role for the most part. I should say that no one from outside Quebec expressed an interest in taking this on. It would have been interesting if someone had come forward. One weakness may be the fact that we do not have at least one individual from outside Quebec who is involved in this project.