Disability rights advocates call for creation of new industry-subsidized fund

The CRTC hearing on access of telecom and broadcasting services to people with disabilities kicked off today with calls for the creation of a national fund to subsidize the provision of accessible services to the disabled.The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), which was first up this morning, said such a fund, similar to one that telecom companies pay into to subsidize the provision of long distance phone services in remote areas, is needed to fast-track the provision of accessible broadcast services."There's need for regulatory rules to make this happen. Industry can't be expected to do it on their own, it can't be voluntary," said Catherine Moore, director of consumer and government relations, CNIB.Moore said the CRTC already exercises such authority under the Telecommunications Act. In an interview with Canadian Communications Reports, Moore pointed out that telecommunications companies currently contribute 1% of their revenues to a fund, which has $300 million in its coffers every year. Companies can then apply to the fund to offset the cost of providing long distance phone service to remote and unprofitable rural areas."So for a company to go forward on a accessibility issues, let's say provide more Described Video, that's going to cost them money, but they would have already paid into a fund so they can apply for a reimbursement," she said.Jacques Racicot from the Centre Québécois de la déficience auditive, an organization representing people with hearing disabilities, welcomed the idea of a national fund, saying the United States has one with $800 million (U.S)."So we think that in Canada, the same process could benefit our consumers," Racicot said in an interview.In their presentations, the CNIB and the Centre Québécois de la déficience auditive mentioned that Canadians with visual and hearing difficulties face several problems in accessing broadcast services. These range from limited Described Video and Closed Captioning, expensive equipment, and insufficient customer support. Monique Thérrien, from the Centre Québécois de la déficience auditive told the hearing that Closed Captioning services in French are poor, marked by incorrect spellings and irritating slowness, especially when offered on live shows. "It is not an acceptable level," she said, citing private broadcasters as the worst offenders.When CRTC commissioner Suzanne Lamarre asked what the centre's stance is on self-regulation by the broadcast industry in terms of Closed Captioning provision, Racicot said the idea is "scary.""So we believe that the CRTC has to adopt standards for all the players in the industry to protect consumers," he said, stressing that such standards should be based on consultation and all parties accepting them.According to figures from 2006, there are an estimated 4.4 million people with disabilities in Canada. The call for the current hearing was issued in June to look into unresolved issues on broadcast and telecommunications provision. It drew several comments from industry and organizations representing the disabled. The week-long hearing ends on Friday this week. The CRTC has said that the hearing proceeding could result in additional obligations on some or all broadcasting undertakings and telecommunications providers.Interveners scheduled to appear tomorrow include Telus Communications, Sasktel, the Canadian Association of the Deaf and the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians.

Disability rights advocates call for creation of new industry-subsidized fund

News | 11/17/2008 8:24 pm EST

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