OTTAWA — A quiet amendment buried deep within the federal Liberal government’s budget bill has sparked concern that Canada may be preparing to eliminate a long-standing program that provides free postage for accessible reading materials used by people who are blind or visually impaired.
The proposed change appears in Bill C-15, the budget implementation act now working its way through Parliament. Tucked in the legislation are brief clauses repealing sections of the Canada Post Corporation Act — with no explanation — that currently guarantee postage-free delivery of braille books, tactile materials, audiobooks and other accessible items mailed to and from Canadians who are blind.
For organizations that rely on this service, the implications are enormous. Laurie Davidson, executive director of the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA), says she was stunned to discover the amendment, describing it as “alarming” and “intentionally obscure,” as though designed to slip through unnoticed.
Her organization, one of only a few in Canada that provides braille books and audiobook players to people who cannot read standard print, ships about 6,500 accessible books and 500 audio devices annually. If postage exemptions disappear, Davidson estimates her mailing costs would balloon by $500,000 to $1 million a year.
“The cost would be prohibitive,” she said. “We would have to stop that service.”
CELA serves blind and low-vision readers across the country, including Canadians living in rural and remote communities with limited access to local libraries or digital alternatives. Free postage, Davidson says, is not a luxury — it’s an equalizer that ensures these Canadians can fully participate in society.
According to the CNIB, roughly 1.5 million people in Canada live with vision loss. The CNIB is still assessing the proposed changes and has not yet provided formal comment.
Requests for clarification from Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s office and Joël Lightbound, the minister responsible for Canada Post, went unanswered. Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu confirmed only that the corporation is “aware of the proposed changes in Bill C-15” and would not offer further comment.
Canada Post has faced growing financial strain in recent years and is preparing major operational reforms, but Davidson argues that ending free postage for accessible materials will do virtually nothing to fix the Crown corporation’s challenges. “This program is a drop in the bucket,” she said. “Cutting it will not make Canada Post solvent.”
Free postage for the blind has existed in Canadian postal law since Canada Post’s creation in 1981, and Davidson believes the practice predates even that. It is also embedded in the Universal Postal Convention, an international agreement Canada has signed. She says removing the protection from Canadian law through a few lines buried in a budget bill is “mind-boggling” and undermines the country’s commitment to human rights and equitable access.
Bill C-15 remains at first reading in the House of Commons, leaving several stages before it becomes law. In the meantime, CELA and other organizations are mobilizing this week in hopes of persuading MPs to amend the bill and preserve the long-standing postage exemption that thousands of blind and low-vision Canadians depend on.