One in six children has a vision problem that makes learning and reading difficult. This problem is not unique to children. Three-quarters of adults with poor literacy skills also have problems with their vision. The difficulty is that not all vision problems are easily detected. We know the earlier problems are detected and corrected, the faster we can get children and adults alike on the reading track and the faster they will be literate.
Awareness is the key.
Mr. Speaker, the income security minister Jeanne Blackburn yesterday denounced in no uncertain terms the federal government's withdrawal of funding for provincial welfare, education and health programs. Like a blind executioner with an axe in hand, the federal government is hacking away at social programs without realizing the impact these cuts have on people. With a single stroke of the pen, Ottawa is forcing the Quebec government to make painful choices among social services without so much as suffering the terrible consequences of its decisions. It is high time for Quebecers to protect themselves from such unilateral cuts. The only solution available to us is to repatriate the taxes we pay to Ottawa and then decide among ourselves how much of the joint assets we shall share.