SOMBA K’E/YELLOWKNIFE
Canadians who rely on sign language to communicate will soon have an easier time reaching out to others.

A deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired person at his workplace, communicating with a hearing person via a Video Relay Service video interpreter (shown on-screen), using a videophone with a camera on top of his computer. The hearing person with whom the video interpreter is also communicating cannot be seen. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced Tuesday that video relay service will be available to Canadians by the fall. - photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced Tuesday that video-relay services would be made available in Canada, free of charge, as early as this fall.

Video-relay service uses video-calling with an operator acting as the go-between for the people participating in the call. The user of the service will need a broadband connection and a video-calling device such as a computer, smart phone, or tablet. People wanting to call a video-relay user will just have to pick up the phone and call as they normally would.

The CRTC expects there will be 20,000 primary users of the service, which is being funded at $30-million annually through the National Contribution Fund – a fund created in 2001 to subsidize local telephone service in isolated areas where costs of providing it are higher.

The commission is accepting bids from companies wanting to take over administration and implementation of the service, including the formation of a Board of Directors.

Denise McKee, executive director of the NWT Disabilities Council, stated in an e-mail to Yellowknifer Wednesday that the announcement is welcome news.

"The ability to communicate effectively allows full participation and inclusion," McKee wrote. "The council looks forward to seeing how this process unfolds over the next year."

She also said the CRTC would have to involve those who will be using the service in the implementation.

"It is important ... the people utilizing the service are involved to allow for the most effective, user-friendly delivery," McKee stated. "As well, attention must be given to ensure that the required technical and equipment support is made affordable and accessible to all people wishing to utilize this service."

Users will have to sign up for the service, and will be able to communicate in both American Sign Language (ASL) or langue des signes quebecoise (LSQ).

"Video relay service will make it possible for (users of VRS) to communicate in sign language with ease, whether it's to make a doctor's appointment, speak to a friend or make any other type of call," said Peter Menzies, vice-chairman of telecommunications, and chairman of the hearing panel with the CRTC in a press release on Tuesday.

"At the same time, we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that this service is introduced in an efficient manner and as quickly as possible."

Currently, there are two services provided to those who are deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired in Canada: Internet Protocol relay and teletypewriter relay.