From the President’s Desk
Summer is finally here! As the country shifts into summer mode, I hope all members are re-charging their batteries and getting to spend some relaxing time with family and friends over the next couple of months. This is a bonus summer newsletter edition to tie our members over until September, when CCB Chapters really get back into the swing of things!
Enjoy the read, and have a wonderful summer
Mike Potvin, Editor.
CCB Fundraiser-Cavallinos Sunday Coffee:
Where Hot Rides and Even Hotter Hearts Shone Bright!:
Phew, what a day! While the sun was busy turning the city of Mississauga into a giant griddle on a Sunday late in June, something even hotter was sizzling at Stillo Construction: the incredible Cavallinos’ Sunday Coffee event! And no, we’re not just talking about the scorching temperatures; we’re talking about the breathtaking, jaw-dropping, absolutely smouldering lineup of automotive masterpieces that graced the lot.
Imagine this: a dazzling array of Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Porsches, McLarens and many more, gleaming under the glorious (and slightly intense) sun. These weren’t just cars; they were works of art, each one a testament to engineering prowess and pure, unadulterated speed. But as magnificent as these vehicles were, they weren’t the only stars of the show.
Amidst the opulent performance machines, something truly special was happening. Our friends from the Mississauga Chapter of The Canadian Council of the Blind mingled with car enthusiasts and owners, sharing stories and laughter. It was a beautiful sight to behold, proving that passion for incredible cars can bring all kinds of people together!
A huge round of applause goes to Anthony, the group’s chair, who delivered an absolutely wonderful presentation. He passionately spoke about The Canadian Council of the Blind, highlighting the incredible work they do for individuals living with blindness, run by blind individuals themselves. It was a powerful reminder of their dedication and the profound impact they have on so many lives.
And here’s where the “hot hearts” truly come in. Not only did these magnificent vehicles shine, but the hearts of their owners shone even brighter. Their incredible generosity and donations to the Mississauga CCB chapter were truly humbling. It just goes to show that behind every powerful engine, there’s often an even more powerful spirit of giving.
A massive shout-out to Alex, President of Stillo Construction for hosting this unforgettable event. And a special, heartfelt thank you to Janice, Barb, Angela, Catherine, and Ali and to everyone who came out!
It was an incredibly enjoyable morning filled with incredible cars, wonderful people, and a spirit of true generosity. Our deepest gratitude goes out to all of you for helping The Mississauga chapter of Canadian Council of the Blind continue their invaluable work.
What a day it was – hot cars, hot sun, and even hotter hearts coming together for a fantastic cause! We can’t wait to see what amazing things the Mississauga Chapter will do next because of this incredible display of support!
By Maria Buzdon, Member of the CCB Mississauga VIPs
Lynda Todd Honoured as Outstanding Emerging Artist at 2025 Peterborough Arts Awards:
Lynda Todd, a legally blind and colour-blind artist, accessibility advocate, and member of the Canadian Council of the Blind Peterborough Chapter, was named Outstanding Emerging Artist at the 2025 Peterborough Arts Awards (PAA). The awards, hosted by the Electric City Culture Council (EC3), recognized six exceptional individuals for their contributions to the local arts community.
Todd is widely celebrated for her groundbreaking work in tactile and accessible art. Her powerful series, Migration: Land, Air & Sea, employs richly textured acrylic techniques to tell the stories of endangered and migrating species, including monarch butterflies, polar bears, sea turtles, caribou, and whales, inviting audiences of all abilities to explore through both sight and touch. Each piece is a call to action and an invitation to connect with our natural world.
In addition to the PAA Award, Todd was the recipient of the People’s Choice Award at the Peterborough Artisan Centre earlier in June 2025, further cementing her connection with the community and the impact of her work.
Her exhibits, funded by the Ontario Arts Council and the Province of Ontario, have been featured in solo shows across the region. Braille descriptions accompany her work and are designed to be inclusive, ensuring that individuals who are blind or have low vision can engage meaningfully with her art.
Reflecting on her mission, Todd shared: “Art should never be a barrier. It needs to be a bridge. My goal is to ensure that every piece of art I create and exhibit is 100% accessible. I hope to see all venues with 100% accessibility. Everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the beauty, story, and emotion within art.”
Todd’s recognition not only honours her talent, it signals a broader movement toward inclusivity in the arts. Her work continues to challenge conventional boundaries and inspire meaningful dialogue around accessibility, environmental stewardship, and the power of universal design in creative spaces.
For more information, please visit www.lyndatodd.com
CCB Member Spotlight:
Dave Carragher — Baking Up Success in New Brunswick:
We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dave Carragher, a member of the Canadian Council of the Blind who is proving that vision loss is no barrier to living a full and active life.
Dave lives in New Brunswick, though he was born in Prince Edward Island. He first began to experience vision loss around the age of 10 or 11, while attending the public school system. Although he didn’t attend a school for the blind full-time, he received support from one throughout his education.
After graduating from high school, Dave pursued studies in Family Science and Nutrition in Prince Edward Island. More recently, he’s embarked on an exciting new chapter: this past January, he enrolled in the Culinary Arts Management program at New Brunswick Community College in Saint Andrews.
What makes this achievement especially remarkable is that Dave lives with retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive eye condition that has left him with no central vision, only some peripheral vision. Despite the challenges, Dave keeps a positive and proactive outlook.
“I really try hard not to let it slow me down too much,” Dave says. “Some days are easier than others, of course, but I try to keep moving forward and live life.”
In addition to his studies, Dave is also a passionate home baker, turning out a delicious array of baked goods for local markets. His offerings include cookies, cinnamon rolls, brownies, and quick breads like banana and lemon loaf.
Around Christmas, he adds festive treats like chocolate peanut butter balls and fudge.
When asked his age, Dave laughed and said he falls into the 20–50 age group, having just celebrated his 40th birthday this past November. And yes, someone else baked the cake!
We’re grateful to Dave for sharing his story and reminding us all that perseverance, creativity, and a positive spirit can overcome even the most significant obstacles.
By the GTT Team, with the assistance of AI.
Announcements
GTT Tech Tip:
Accessing Your Camera Quickly on the iPhone:
If you would like to quickly access your camera on iPhone to capture that picture as fast as possible you can do the following:
Wake your phone up by pressing the power button
Swipe with three fingers from right to left. The camera is now there and ready to go.
Now find the “take picture” button or press one of the volume buttons to take the picture
These steps are with voice over turned on.
Help Us Build Canada’s First Women’s Blind Soccer Team:
My name is Hillary Scanlon and I’m based in Peterborough, Ontario, but the Canadian Women’s Blind Soccer Team is a national initiative, with players joining from across the country.
As this is the first team of its kind in Canada, we are currently recruiting blind and partially sighted athletes from all provinces and territories. We are planning a combination of virtual training, regional meetups, and a few centralized in-person camps in Ontario leading up to the 2025 IBSA Women’s Blind Football World Championship in Kochi, India (October 2–12).
We’re working to remove as many geographic and financial barriers as possible to make participation accessible for all eligible athletes, regardless of location.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like any additional information or resources to share with your community.
Hillary Scanlon, Captain | Canadian Women’s Blind Soccer Team
Email: CanadaBlindSoccer@gmail.com
Socials: @Soccability
Check out the New Book, called Low Vision Matters, by Laura Stevens:
I want to tell you about a new book I have co-authored with a vision therapist for patients with mild to severe vision loss. It’s called Low vision Matters. I have been an author since 1975 and live in Lafayette, USA, where I earned my MS in Nutrition Science from Purdue University.
I have had declining low vision due to AMD since 2013 despite the best eye care. Discovering firsthand the frustrations and challenges of low vision, I teamed up with Tom Blackman, a longtime Vision Therapist from Indianapolis, to help patients like me. Together we have written LOW VISION MATTERS: A Practical Guide to Living with Low Vision and Blindness published by Square One Publishers, NY 2025.
About the book:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over seven million people in the US alone suffer from severe vision loss or blindness. In the past, low vision was truly a life-altering condition. Those seemingly everyday tasks that were once so simple instead became difficult—whether one had to work, cook, read, drive, go out to shop, or even turn on a light switch, one’s world had been completely turned upside down. Today, however, things have begun to change. With the revolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) already underway, many of the major barriers caused by diminished or fully lost vision have been lessened or completely eliminated.
In Low Vision Matters, authors Laura Stevens and Thomas Blackman provide a comprehensive guide to all the aids and equipment now available—along with important practical advice—to those who are vision-challenged.
The book is divided into two parts. Part One focuses on the day-to-day activities that low vision can affect—from safety in your home or traveling outside, to the handling of finances or one’s home entertainment system. It discusses the latest technologies that can enable a person with low vision to turn on a light, start a dishwasher, or even answer a phone through the use of oral commands—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Part Two then provides a breakdown of the various kinds of helpful vision-aid products now available. Because the authors understand the costs involved in purchasing such equipment, they include the names of those organizations and associations in an extensive Resources section along with various other crucial contacts about which those with low vision and their loved ones and caretakers need to know.
Times have changed. Low Vision Matters provides a wealth of information that can vastly improve the daily life of a person living with vision loss or blindness.
The book is available here:
Low Vision Matters – Square One Publishers
Applications for the Canada Disability Benefit Opened on June 20, 2025:
For information about the Canada Disability Benefit, including how to apply, please visit the Canada Disability Benefit website or contact Service Canada at 1-833-486-3007 or 1-833-467-2700 (TTY).
We are pleased to share an important update on the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), a key milestone in strengthening Canada’s social safety net and advancing the inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities.
The Canada Disability Benefit Regulations came into force on May 15, 2025, paving the way for implementation.
What is the Canada Disability Benefit?
The benefit provides financial support of up to $200 per month to eligible people with disabilities with low income. Individuals must be between 18 and 64 years old. It is administered by Service Canada and represents a significant step forward in addressing financial barriers faced by many people with disabilities. The first month of eligibility is June 2025, with payments beginning in July 2025 for applications received and approved by June 30, 2025.
If an individual qualifies for the benefit, payments will start the month after their application is received and approved. If the application is approved in July 2025 or later and an applicant was eligible for payments in earlier months, they will get back payments. There will be no payments before June 2025.
Details on the eligibility requirements are available on the dedicated CDB webpage (Do you qualify – Canada.ca).
When to apply?
Applications for the benefit will open on June 20, 2025. Individuals cannot apply before this date.
How to apply?
Applications can be submitted online through the application portal, by phone, or in person at a Service Canada Centre.
What is needed to apply?
Individuals who have been approved for the disability tax credit and who meet most of the eligibility criteria will receive a letter starting in June. The letter will include a unique application code and instructions on how to apply.
Before a person applies, they should gather the following information:
Social Insurance Number (SIN)
Direct deposit information. Service Canada asks everyone to sign up for direct deposit because it’s the fastest and most reliable way to get payments.
If an individual does not receive a letter and thinks they may be eligible, they can still apply. The following additional information will be needed:
Mailing address
Net income (line 23600) from their 2024 notice of assessment.
Additional Support
Community-based navigator services are being supported to help individuals access the benefit and related programs, especially those in underserved or marginalized communities. These organizations are well-positioned to provide culturally appropriate and accessible support across Canada.
To help raise awareness about the Canada Disability Benefit, Service Canada, through their Community Outreach and Liaison Service, is actively communicating with regions and organizations to provide information about the benefit and explore whether outreach activities, such as hosting an event, would be valuable for staff, volunteers, or clients.
For information about the Canada Disability Benefit, including how to apply, please visit the Canada Disability Benefit website or contact Service Canada at 1-833-486-3007 or 1-833-467-2700 (TTY).
CELA Announces New Smart Speaker Service:
We are delighted to launch our new smart speaker service! This service will allow you to read CELA books using an Alexa enabled smart speaker.
Alexa-enabled smart speakers are devices, primarily from Amazon, that combine a speaker with Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa. These speakers allow users to control various functions and interact with Alexa using voice commands.
CELA has worked with our partners to create the Accessible Reading Skill which is the software that allows CELA patrons to listen to CELA audiobooks on any Alexa-enabled smart speaker. With the Accessible Reading Canada skill, you can use voice commands to browse recommendations, search for audiobooks, and read items on your Direct to Player Bookshelf through your smart speaker.
To access CELA audiobooks through these speakers, you’ll first need to set up your Alexa-enabled speaker before you can enable the Accessible Reading Canada Alexa skill.
To help you get started, we’ve created a range of helpful materials, including step-by-step video tutorials, a user guide, and live training webinars. Visit our Accessible Reading Canada help page to:
-Learn more about the Accessible Reading Canada skill
-Watch a quick-start video
-View or download a printable user guide
-Find answers to frequently asked questions
The Accessible Reading Canada help page can be found here:
Accessible Reading Canada Help | CELA
We will also be hosting webinars later this summer which will guide you through the steps needed to access CELA books and magazines using a smart speaker.
As this is a new service and a completely new way to read CELA books and magazines, we expect there may be occasional hiccups as we continue to improve the experience. If you have suggestions, questions, or run into any challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Our Contact Centre team is here to support you if you need help getting started.
Happy reading!
A Great Move Toward Accessibility in Nova Scotia:
The province is working on a new standard to make goods and services more accessible for people with disabilities. Learn more about the Accessibility Advisory Board’s recommendations here: https://nsaccessibilityboard.ca/accessibility-standards/goods-and-services-standard-development-committee
The Accessibility Advisory Board established a committee of members with lived experience and expertise in service delivery to develop recommendations for an accessibility standard in the delivery and receipt of goods and services.
This includes ensuring that persons with disabilities have equitable access to services. The Goods and Services Standard Development Committee developed the recommendations.
The Accessibility Advisory Board submitted the recommendations to the Minister of Justice in June 2025. These recommendations are being used to prepare Nova Scotia’s accessibility standard for goods and services.
Government will now begin the review of the recommendations and draft an accessibility standard in goods and services. The goal of this standard will be to address barriers to accessible service delivery in Nova Scotia. As the work progresses, updates will continue to be shared online. When drafted, the proposed standard will be shared publicly for comment.
This work would not be possible without the input of Nova Scotians, and the expertise and dedication of the Goods and Services Standard Development Committee.
In the News
How I Care for Vision Loss-A Mother and Son’s Journey Beyond Limitations:
Alexis, like a lot of moms, is proud of her son because of what he can do, no matter his challenges with vision loss.
Alexis Nickerson and her 16-year-old son Harry compete at the Canadian national level in goalball, a team sport for athletes with visual impairments. They’re fit and fiercely competitive—the kind of people who work hard and like to excel. Maybe it’s good genes, but being driven has a lot to do with outlook on life.
“In our experience, it’s been helpful to have that mindset of you can still do what you love. You might need to adapt it, but, you know, let’s find a way,” says Alexis, a physiotherapist and mom of two in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
In goalball, everyone has degrees of vision loss and wears an eye mask to level the playing field. It’s a game where participants use hearing and touch to navigate a volleyball-size court and score by throwing a three-pound ball with bells inside into the opponent’s goal net (while the opposing team tries to block it with their bodies).
“The ground has tactile cues on it, so you can feel where you are. It’s a team of three versus a team of three,” she adds. There are co-ed teams, but she and Harry play on their respective women’s and men’s teams.
“I think we both love the intensity and working with teammates on the court, it’s pretty awesome.”
Alexis was born prematurely and later diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity, an eye disease that happens in premature babies and can cause vision loss or blindness.
Her case was considered stable and “there wasn’t anything else more to it.” She’s legally blind, but didn’t have extensive, modern testing for her vision loss until Harry experienced his own vision troubles. A super-athletic kid from the start, he was in gymnastics at age two. But when he was nine, he had an accident. He ran straight into a bar during gymnastics training—completely out of character for someone so agile and coordinated.
Right on the spot, Alexis, who also trained as a gymnast growing up, immediately called the eye doctor for an appointment. Harry had recently aced an exam at the optometrist where they only check your central vision, so he has good central vision, but this was something different.
The ophthalmologist said that likely he had peripheral vision loss and made room for him the next day for testing.
That’s when everything changed. Harry was declared legally blind and diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the term for a group of inherited eye diseases that affect the retina.
RP is progressive, meaning that full blindness is possible. Estimates suggest that about one in every 4,000 Canadians has RP and by age 40, many are legally blind with a severely constricted field of vision.
“Before we got all of the results back, I don’t think you really let yourself fully go there until a diagnosis is given. You’re still keeping some hope. But waiting for the testing, we just needed an answer, but also getting that answer was devastating,” she recalls, sadness in her voice clouding over her enthusiasm for sharing their story. Her family is involved in advocacy and fundraising for Fighting Blindness Canada, a national charity that supports research and community-building for people with vision loss.
Parents, along with their kids going through vision loss, change their approach to daily life and future plans, Alexis says. “I think even subconsciously, you’re always thinking about what your kids are going to do, what school might look like, what their social life might look like, and suddenly that changed, even though he’s a smart, dedicated, passionate kid. I knew he would go on to do awesome things. I think every parent thinks that of their kids. But we knew that would look different, and just that looking different was really hard.”
The ophthalmologist suspected that Alexis also had RP, so both mom and son went through the visual and genetic testing that revealed the gene mutation that had originated with Alexis. None of her brothers or their kids are affected.
For Alexis, though, talking to Harry about his eye disease stands out like a physical “punch in the gut,” she says of answering his questions. “We were told just to answer when he asked about it, not to just go home and say, ‘Hey, you’re likely losing all your vision.’ So, one night he asked, ‘am I going blind?’ And one of his first questions after that was, even at that young age, ‘what am I going to do for a career?’
And I said, ‘You’re going to do whatever you want.’”
When she was growing up with her vision challenges, she wasn’t aware of adaptive devices and supports, so that’s something she’s adamant that others learn about. For example, both she and Harry use a white cane to help navigate. But at school, people have said that he’s faking his vision loss because he can see to read his phone, but then he needs a cane to move around the school.
The misconceptions are frustrating. Alexis wants people to know that only about 15 per cent of people who use a white cane are fully blind. “Most people assume you can’t see them or see things, so people find it odd when you make eye contact or smile or say something to them.”
The Nickersons don’t put any limits on their abilities and Harry shines in a lot of different areas. He’s keen on science and will be competing at a national science fair with software he developed to classify eye conditions using a smartphone. As well, he competes in gymnastics in all six of the men’s events. He joined goalball soon after his RP diagnosis to give him another athletic pursuit. Even his mom says he’s a jock (with a big heart and inquisitive brain).
“I don’t know many 16 year olds that come off the court and want to give their mom a hug,” she says of attending goalball tournaments. “He is very comfortable in his own skin. He’s a big jock but isn’t afraid to show some love.”
Just as important, she says Harry is at peace with his eye condition. It can’t be easy, because there’s no pattern in families in regard to how it progresses over time. While he still has some central vision, no one knows if he’ll have vision in three months or a year or two years.
“There’s no predicting it, so I think that’s the hardest part,” she explains. “Would he give a lot of things up to have some vision back or stabilize his vision? Absolutely. My hope is that we do find some sort of treatment to slow down or even give him back a little bit of vision.” She’s often in contact with Fighting Blindness Canada and looking at current research, hoping for a study he could join that might give him that chance.
Her advice for others with vision loss is to reach out and find people who have a similar experience, because that’s where true understanding and empathy lead to friendships.
For Alexis and Harry, it’s goalball.
“We love the sport, but it’s not just about the sport. We have amazing friendships right across the country and beyond from goalball and there’s really nothing like connecting with people that know and understand what you’re going through. You feel like you can just be yourself. You don’t need to pretend to see things, you can just be you and it’s just a comforting feeling.”
Team sports are not for everybody, she admits, but finding people who share your interests is a solid start to a support network and feeling that sense of belonging.
Alexis, like a lot of moms, is proud of her son because of what he can do, no matter his challenges.
“I still get pretty emotional watching him compete. What he’s been able to do as a legally blind athlete is incredible. Before a competition, I always tell him to ‘have fun and go show the world what you can do,’” she says smiling. “Like there’s no limitation. And people are shocked when he picks up his cane between events or after events thinking ‘you were just out there and now you’re walking around with a white cane.’”
By Karen Hawthorne
www.ccbnational.net 1-877-304-0968