On February 13th a Parliament day, organized by Sandstone Group, brought together stakeholders from the vision health ecosystem in support of Bill C-284 and in recognition of AMD Awareness Month.  Passing of this Bill will allow all vision health stakeholders to come together and build an effective strategy that ensures all Canadians have access to vision care. With approximately 5 million Canadians suffering from uncorrected poor vision; 1.8 million living with vision loss, and 68,000 that are blind, the Bill can have a significantly positive effect on Canadians. Delaying this bill will have ripple effects and prevent us from reaching those who do not have access to care.

Led by Hon. Judy A. Sgro, Bill C-284 is a private member’s Bill that has received very rare unanimous approval by the house.It is now in the Senate’s hands, led by Senator Ravalia.

The stakeholders: OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation, EssilorLuxottica, the Canadian Association of Optometrists, the Canadian Ophthalmological Society, Canadian Council for the Blind, University of Waterloo School of Optometry & Vision Science/Waterloo Eye Institute, CNIB, Fighting Blindness Canada, Diagnos Medical Systems (TSX: ADK.V), Vision Therapy Canada, Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada, NorthWest Company and Vuexcare.

Group Photo 1 from left to right:

Dr Stan Woo, Director, School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo
Ariella Milber-Eliyahu, Operations Manager, North West Company
Marie Pabelina, Managing Director, Retail Pharmacy and Optical, North West Company
Alice Clark, Manager of Stakeholder Relations and Executive Operations, CNIB
Hon. Don Boudria, Sandstone Group
MP Carol Hughes
Larissa Moniz, PhD, Director of Research and Missions Program, CNIB
Becky Palm, Executive Director for North America, OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation
Simon Robert, Sr. Director of Corporate Affairs and Strategic Partnerships, EssilorLuxottica

Group Photo 2 from left to right:

Kris Kelm, Community Impact Manager, OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation
Senator Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia
MP Judy A. Sgro
Becky Palm, Executive Director for North America, OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation
Simon Robert, Sr. Director of Corporate Affairs and Strategic Partnerships, EssilorLuxottica