Colin, I don't know if they have similar privileges in Canada, but there are
regulations governing free matter for the blind which are available from
most post offices. I even remember reading them in Talkingbook Topics back
in the 60's. But just because someone mails something free matter doesn't
mean they aren't abusing it. At one time it only applied to talkingbooks
and other such devices, but it was extended to letters later on which was
probably a mistake. I even know of a sighted person who tried to mail taped
letters free matter even though the regs specifically said that a sighted
person is not entitled to those privileges even if the correspondence is in
Braille, on tape or in any other accessible format. But people abuse things
which is why we end up losing them.
Harvey