911 Staff Will Text Message With Deaf Canadians

CBC - 911 staff will text message with Deaf Canadians.



OTTAWA - Canadians who have hearing or speech problems will soon be able to send text messages to 911 services.



Other Canadians, however, must continue to communicate with 911 services over the phone, says Canada's telecommunications regulator.



By Jan. 24, 2014, all telephone and wireless companies must upgrade their networks to support text messaging communication with Canadians who have hearing and speech impairments. The service may become available before then in areas where the upgrades are completed early.



"Services such as 911 are critical to the health and safety of all Canadians,” said Jean-Pierre Blais, chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in a statement Thursday.



“This initiative is a perfect example of how technology can be used to improve access to 911 services for Canadians with disabilities." ... Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/01/24/tech-911-texting.html

Deaf Community Put Pressure On CRTC

Video: Deaf community put pressure on CRTC.



CANADA - A handful of Deaf people and supporters gathered in front of the Canadian Radiotelevision and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) building in Regina on Friday, taking part in one of nine rallies across Canada in support of making Video Relay Services (VRS) available to the whole country... Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/life/Deaf+pressure+CRTC/5994818/story.html

VRS Debate in Canada Press



CALGARY - More than hundreds Deaf people and their supporters rallied outside offices of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) Friday. They want the CRTC to continue providing a free service that allows Deaf people to use visual phones and sign language interpreters... Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/01/13/calgary-vrs-protest-crtc.html



VANCOUVER - The Deaf community wants government to fund a specialized service so Deaf people can communicate by telephone just the same as hearing-enabled people. Video Relay System, or VRS, was provided on an 18-month trial to 311 Deaf people in B.C. and Alberta but the funding runs out Jan. 15, hanging up the service, for the short term, at least. It was funded with a fee levied against all Canadian telephone customers. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission contracted Telus to do trials, then make its recommendations... Read more: http://www.canada.com/Service+allows+deaf+talk+telephone/5891617/story.html



News referenced: CANADA VRS RALLY

CANADA VRS RALLY

Video: Canada VRS Rally.



CANADA - Let's start a rally at the CRTC office on January 13rd, 2012 across Canada. Please watch Tien Verstraete's comment in the video. Please spread this video into the Deaf community to support the VRS in Canada.

Video by alertbayDeafboy



VRS debate in Canada - Read full article: http://www.canada.com/Service+allows+deaf+talk+telephone/5891617/story.html