QUESTION PERIOD — Employment and Social Development
Funding for Equitable Library Access
December 2, 2021
Honourable senators, my question for the government leader today is related to the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which will be observed tomorrow. There have been other questions related to supporting that important community.
Earlier this year, the Trudeau government attempted to phase out funding for the Centre for Equitable Library Access and the National Network for Equitable Library Service, which both work to provide accessible reading materials for people with print disabilities. Thankfully, this decision was reversed in March, and the two groups had their funding restored for one year. This was described at the time as an interim solution.
Leader, the year-long reprieve that your government granted will soon come to an end. Has your government found a long-term resolution to help these two organizations continue their important work?
Thank you for the question.
As I stated in the last Parliament — and I’m glad you have raised the question again — those programs are important. Like you, I am glad that a solution was found, albeit an interim one.
I will have to make inquiries as to whether funding for that program will continue or what other measures may be taken to assist them to make sure that those with disabilities have access to reading materials. I engage to do that.
Those were not the only groups that had to face the potential loss until the interim solution appeared. In 2018, the Trudeau government attempted to cut $2.5 million from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind’s accessible book program when their funding was excluded from the 2018 budget. Under pressure, however, that funding was restored.
I know that Minister Freeland and your government are producing a budget in a few months from now. Time is of the essence. I know you can’t commit today, but as you’re inquiring about the other two organizations and a more permanent or long-term solution, are you able to confirm whether they will not be in the budget — that we will not be cutting funding for the visually impaired Canadians in Budget 2022? Is that something you can also inquire about?
In matters of what is included in the budget, not only do I not know, but I want to be transparent: I’m not sure this is something that I would be in a position to disclose until such time as the budget lockdown is completed.
That said, I want to repeat something I said earlier today and underline the commitment of this government to work with the communities of people with disabilities to jointly develop programs to assist them so as to better integrate and participate in Canadian society. That remains the position and the commitment of this government.
