CRTC says new website will emphasize consumer access

The CRTC's efforts to revamp its website will focus on consumer access over concerns from industry, Paulette Leclair, the commission’s director of public affairs, said in an interview. Home to the public records for more than two decades' worth of commission decisions and consultations—as well as interventions, tariff notices, letters and other documents—the CRTC’s website is vital to anyone who works in or researches telecom or broadcasting policy. Still, the site is subject to routine criticism from industry users who rely on those documents to inform their arguments in proceedings that can impact businesses. “We want to engage more Canadians in our proceedings, so going forward we need to look at having a website that is more user-friendly,” Leclair said in a phone interview. Leclair, who manages the CRTC group responsible for the website, said the commission wants to make it easier for consumers to find documents and use the site to participate in proceedings. They hope to do this by prioritizing the type of information consumers look for and reducing the use of regulatory jargon, she said. Leclair said the commission’s efforts started last spring when it asked a group of consumers, industry officials and commission staff to complete tests—similar to a survey the CRTC launched this month—to determine how they used the website, and whether they could find documents when asked. Commission staff also interviewed website users, examined analytics reports, and the websites of regulators in other countries, before developing a plan for the redesign. She said the CRTC learned that the website was not consumer-friendly and impaired users’ ability to find documents or public proceedings. “We are aware that certain industry people have specific employees that go to our website and know specifically where to find this information,” Leclair said. “But if you’re a consumer or a Canadian citizen who’s trying to find a specific proceeding that is of interest, it’s not so easy for people to find.” Janet Lo, legal counsel for consumer group the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), said in an interview that consumers turn to PIAC for assistance finding information on the CRTC website. One of the biggest problems, she said, is distinguishing between online information for industry, such as tariff notices, and information for the general public, such as how to take part in a public consultation. “There needs to be something that’s really designed with interests in mind,” she said. Lo said even regular users of the site have difficulty finding documents related to consultations or applications, which, since the last website update in 2009, have not been posted in chronological order. Instead, files are posted alphabetically, making it more difficult to gauge when new documents are available. “The way that it works now is a lot more challenging,” Lo said, adding that it's “promising” that the commission wants to make its website more accessible. CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais, who has emphasized consumer interests in CRTC policymaking, said in a speech last fall that as he travelled Canada some people told him the website was “impenetrable.” “It doesn't give up its information very easily," he said. "I have heard it described as 'impenetrable.' In fact, some very sophisticated companies have to rely on a designated wizard on their staff who knows how to navigate around our site.” Blais said “this won't do” as the website is the CRTC's main gateway to interact with people across the country. “We're planning a major redesign,” he said. “We've listened to users' comments, and we're going to make it intuitive and easy to navigate. Visitors will be able to find the information they need to know to make decisions. They'll find the tools that will enable them to take action.” CRTC spokeswoman Patricia Valladao said the CRTC is aware that consumers and industry officials often cannot find documents and that commission staff are using other tools, such as Twitter, to make sought-after documents available. Jean-Francois Mezei, a consultant with Montreal firm Vaxination Informatique who participates in CRTC proceedings, said in a phone interview that the commission should automate the process of posting documents on its website to avoid delays in public access to them. People in Canada's telecom and media sectors have to rely on the website, Mezei said. “That’s what we, as interveners, have to rely on,” he said. “If it’s not reliable, we can’t use it.” Valladao said commission officials work “around the clock” to post interventions during peak periods, and sometimes still face delays related to resources. Leclair said the commission will look at automating the process “eventually,” though not until it is first satisfied that the site is easier to use for consumers. “We’re not there, but yes it’s on our radar screen,” she said. “We’re fully aware and this is something that we’ll undertake over the next year.” —With reporting by Nicholas Kyonka at nkyonka@thewirereport.ca and editing by Simon Doyle at sdoyle@thewirereport.ca

CRTC says new website will emphasize consumer access

Broadcast | April 9, 2013

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CRTC says new website will emphasize consumer access

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