LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO
Thursday 2 June 2005
BLIND PERSONS' RIGHTS AMENDMENT ACT, 2005

Mr. Toby Barrett (Haldimand-Norfolk-Brant): I certainly rise in support of this bill brought by the member from Cambridge, An Act to amend the Blind Persons' Rights Act. The focus, as we all understand, is to extend rights to all persons with disabilities if they are dependent on a guide dog.

It is truly remarkable what these dogs can do. What we often don't see is what these dogs can do in the home and elsewhere to assist people who have disabilities. In fact, Mr. Martiniuk has pointed out that the dogs can help people who are suffering seizures, they help push help buttons, open doors and can physically alert the deaf people, for example, to an emergency situation, and there is assistance for autistic people. It really seems apparent to me that all of these people with impairments or disabilities who are relying on dogs deserve the same rights of access as we as a society have given to the blind. Probably most of the states in the United States have legislation that does this. It's very important for all of us to realize that we do take our hearing for granted and we take our sight for granted. This is certainly something that we can do to help out.

There's another thing we can do to help out. On April 27 this year, the LCBO approved placement of donation boxes for Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind. For those of who visit the LCBO, it's an opportunity to throw in some change or some paper money. It would be our way of directly helping some people who need it. The Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind is one of 26 provincial and numerous local charities that benefit from these LCBO fundraising strategies. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised. I want to thank the LCBO for setting up these kinds of programs. LCBO customers are generous people, and I would like to extend my thanks to them for their donations in the near future, which will better assist.

I'm looking forward to continued progress in this legislation to assist people -- not only blind people, but deaf people and other people with disabilities -- who rely on these dogs to access ringing telephones, alarm clocks and smoke detectors and to hear automobiles or trucks that may be coming, in harm's way.