Your help is required to ensure that CELA (The Centre for Equitable
Library Access) and NNELS (National Network for Equitable Library
Service) can continue to offer the choices and services you depend
on.

Without warning or consultation, the Federal Government announced
in its 2020 Fall Economic Statement, that it would withdraw the
current 4 million dollars which supports accessible reading materials
and programs, ending all support by 2024-2025. This 4 million dollars
in funding is split between CELA (3 million annually) and NNELS (1
million annually) to provide material to those across Canada with print
disabilities.

This decision to cut funding will have a devastating impact on CELA’s
and NNELS’s ability to produce new books for their collection and
distribute materials including audio CDs and physical Braille to their
users. The initial decrease in funding in 2021-2022, will result in an
immediate reduction in the services and further compound the effects
of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is having a disproportionate impact
on those with disabilities across Canada.

CELA and NNELS, are actively engaging with the Federal Minister of
Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, the
Honourable Carla Qualtrough, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, and key opposition
Members of Parliament in an effort to have funding restored.
The Canadian Council of the Blind, is asking you to add your voice in
support of CELA and NNELS and write to both Ministers and to your
local Member of Parliament to ask that the funding for accessible
reading materials be fully restored.

More resources, including sample letters, can be found on both
CELA’s and NNELS’s websites, links below.
https://cnib.cmail20.com/t/i-l-mdiduky-uuhildhhh-j/
http://nnels.ca/advocate-nnels-services
Please use the following hashtags in any social media posts so that
we can all find them and track the campaign: #CdnPoli

RestoreAccessibleBookFunding

Respecting the fact of how important accessible reading materials are
to you, unfortunately, we all have a limited amount of time to convince
the Federal Government that full funding needs to be restored.
Please help by raising your voice, writing letters, and sharing the
impact of these devastating cuts.

The CCB (Canadian Council of the Blind) is proud to lend its
unconditional and total support to this extremely worthwhile and
important cause on behalf of its membership and all blind, deafblind
and partially sighted Canadians.

Louise Gillis
National President
Canadian Council of the