02/25/2026
Update February 24, 2026 : Good news! Yesterday, the House of Commons Finance Committee approved amendments to Bill C-15 (2025 Budget Implementation Act) that reinstates the protections for free literature for the blind and reduced postage rates for library materials in the Canada Post Corporations Act.
The new wording reads:
Exceptions — rates
(3.1) The Corporation must provide for
(a) the transmission by post, free of postage, of letters, books, tapes, records and other similar material for the use of the blind; and
(b) a reduced rate of postage for library materials lent by a library to a borrower, including by means of an interlibrary loan.
Bill C-15 must now be sent back to the House of Commons for Report Stage and 3rd Reading. Once passed, it will proceed to the Senate. We do not expect any major changes to this section and certainly none that should cause further harm to Canada Post rates for library materials or materials for the use of the blind.
We would like to thank you to Minister Joel Lightbound, members of the Standing Committee on Finance, and members of the House of Commons and Senate for supporting our efforts to protect reduced postage rates for library materials and free postage for the use of the blind under the Canada Post Corporation Act. This decision will meaningfully impact millions of people across Canada.
A huge thank you to everyone who supported and helped in this important advocacy work. NNELS and CELA worked collaboratively with the Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC), the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), and Public Library InterLINK on this issue. We also worked alongside CNIB, Braille Literacy Canada and other disability partners - all of our voices together have collectively made a difference.
