New position stand on Biosimilars
Press Release
SPECSAVERS AND THE CANADIAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND ANNOUNCE SPONSORSHIP TO CHAMPION VISION HEALTH
TORONTO, June 6, 2023 – Specsavers, an optometrist-owned and led business, is pleased to announce its partnership with the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) as a Participating Gold Sponsor. The CCB is a renowned organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals who are blind, deaf-blind, or living with low vision through initiatives that support both individuals and communities.
Front Row (Left to Right):
Jim Tokos (CCB National President), Dr. Hiba Mannan (Specsavers), Naomi Barber (Specsavers), Sarah Gardiner (Specsavers), Jim Prowse (CCB Executive Director), Dr. Jestyn Liew (Specsavers), Dr. Jas Nagra (Specsavers)
Back Row (Left to Right):
Curtis Buckroyd (Specsavers) and Mark Walker (Specsavers)
Visions – June
Dinner 2023
Vision Month Dinner
Dialogue Over Dinner
EXPO 2023
Reforming Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program – An Update
The Canadian Council of the Blind Vision Month Forum will took place live and virtually on Saturday, May 27 from 2 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EST) Eastern Standard Time at the Al Green Theatre, Miles Nadal JCC, 750 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario.
Topic: Reforming Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program – An Update
Speakers:
David Schachow, Director, Delivery and Eligibility Review Branch at the Ontario Ministry of Health, responsible for delivery of the ADP
Dr. Jutta Treviranus, Director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) and Professor in the Faculty of Design at OCAD University in Toronto
Luna Bengio, Senior Accessibility Expert and Strategic Advisor, Government of Canada
Dr. Keith Gordon, Senior Research Officer, Canadian Council of the Blind and Principal Investigator of the 2021 ADP Survey
Ian White, President of the Toronto Visionaries Chapter of the CCB
DATE: Saturday, May 27, 2023
TIME: 2 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EST)
Conference 2023
VISION OF THE FUTURE
VISION MONTH CONFERENCE
The Canadian Council of the Blind Vision Month Conference took place on Tuesday, May 16th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (EST) Eastern Standard Time at Christ Church Cathedral in the Great Hall, located at 414 Sparks Street in Ottawa, Ontario.
Topic: New Treatments for Eye Disease – a Vision of the Future
Speakers:
The Honourable Judy Sgro PC MP, Humber River – Black Creek, Ontario
Dr. Keith Gordon, Senior Research Officer, Canadian Council of the Blind
Dr. David Maberley, Chair, University of Ottawa Department of Ophthalmology
Dr. Elise Heon, Staff Director, Ocular Genetics Program, Sick Children’s Hospital and Professor of Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Toronto
Dr. Ike Ahmed, Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, Director, Glaucoma & Advanced Anterior Segment Surgery (GAASS) Fellowship, University of Toronto
Dr. Larissa Moniz, Director Research and Mission Programs, Fighting Blindness Canada.
DATE: Tuesday, May 16, 2023
TIME: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST
LUNCH: Light lunch to be served from 12:00 – 12:30 p.m.
White Cane Magazine May 2023
Welcome to White Cane Magazine May 2023. May has been dedicated as Vision Month. Check out this issue of White Cane Magazine to learn more about Vision Month:
- Meet the CCB’s Person of the Year and the President’s Award recipients
- Learn about Bill C-284, a bill that will create a national eye health strategy for Canada
- Learn about publicly-funded health care from a senior provincial health minister
- Learn about the impact that the pandemic has had on vision health in Canada
- Learn about a new therapy for blinding eye disease
- Look at AMI’s plans for another sizzling summer
- Read about “Nothing without us” – the true meaning of inclusion
- Read about an amazing family travelling the world before their children’s vision falters
- Learn about the integrated Vision Loss Rehabilitation Clinic in Halifax
- Learn about the creation of the first Indigenous braille code
- Read about VIA Rail’s new accessibility plan
- Learn about innovative ways that Canada’s ophthalmologists are servicing isolated areas in Canada’s North
- Learn about the CNIB’s new strategic plan
- Learn how to create a podcast from blind outdoorsman Lawrence Gunther
Enjoy the Read!
DOWNLOAD BELOWVisions – April
Luxturna Now Available Through OHIP
The Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) applauds the Ontario Minister of Health’s announcement on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 that the Novartis treatment Luxturna® is now available through the Ontario public health plan for patients with vision loss due to inherited retinal dystrophy caused by confirmed biallelic RPE65mutations. Ontario has now joined Quebec, Alberta, and Saskatchewan for public coverage of the treatment. Nova Scotia has now confirmed funding for Luxturna through its Exception Drug Fund. Since the procedure is not performed in the Province, arranging care, is the next step for Nova Scotia’s only identified patient.
“The CCB fully endorses Minister of Health Sylvia Jones’ decision to fund Luxturna,” stated Dr. Keith Gordon, the CCB’s Senior Research Officer. “The funding of this innovative therapy provides hope that people living with the RPE65 gene mutation will be fully able to participate in life. We commend the Ontario government for making this possible.”
