Official Languages committee  There are a whole host of issues to consider. When you undertake a process of that sort, tradition, for example written tradition, becomes an issue. Agreeing on a set of symbols means dropping others. And sometimes it's difficult to compromise. We face the same difficulties in French.

Official Languages committee  There are three different ways of indicating figures in braille depending on the symbol used and the indicators. There are three ways that blind people receive information. And one of the problems was agreeing on the kind of figures to be used. It was an issue for francophones and it's also one for anglophones.

Official Languages committee  The onus is certainly on the federal government to support bodies that can speak on behalf of both the Francophonie and the English-language community. And they need to be financially autonomous so that international task forces can be set up. Clearly, that's the federal government's responsibility.

Official Languages committee  There's a lot needed, that's for sure. Both when it comes to adapting texts and to access to services. The visually impaired often have to work really hard to promote and increase awareness of their rights. There's really a lot of hard work to be done in that area.

Official Languages committee  To begin with, I'd like to clarify the issues that we're dealing with when it comes to three specific areas, culture, education, and rehabilitation. As far as culture is concerned, in Quebec, the Service québécois du livre adapté, which is part of the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales, provides all users with access to documents in braille and in other alternative media formats.

Official Languages committee  In Canada, there is the Canadian Braille Authority, which I briefly alluded to earlier. The organization has a permanent seat and is comprised of representatives from the Francophonie. However, the Canadian Braille Authority is a committee that does not have the means to do a lot.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It's a pleasure for me to be here with you this morning to talk about braille. It's extremely interesting to be here with you all, because we are celebrating the 200th birthday of Mr. Braille, the ingenious inventor of this tool.