Telecom - Staff Letter addressed to Jeffrey Beatty
Gatineau, 27 October 2025
Mr. Beatty,
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) staff have received the letter from the Deaf Wireless Canada Committee (DWCC) dated 02 October 2025. DWCC submitted the letter as a procedural request and asked for clarification of specific parts of Telecom Regulatory Policy 2025-54 (the Review of video relay service or VRS).
On 10 October 2025, Ms. Suzanne Laforest, CEO and Executive Director of the Canadian Administrator of VRS (CAV), provided an email response to the DWCC Letter by explaining some of its current practices.
On 14 October 2025, the DWCC filed a letter acknowledging the CAV’s response.
And on 18 October 2025, the CAV responded with an email inviting the DWCC to contact the CAV if it had any further questions.
While DWCC has characterized its letter as a procedural request, CRTC staff notes that there is no open proceeding on this matter.
When the CRTC published the Review of VRS in February 2025, this concluded a comprehensive public process. This included focus group research, a commissioned report, and extensive input from VRS users. The Review of VRS describes how the CRTC considered the issues that were put forward and explains the decisions it made, on the basis of the record.
Because a procedural request asks for a change of process, and because the Review of VRS is concluded, there is no process to change at this time. Accordingly, a copy of the DWCC’s two letters, the CAV’s response, and this letter will be placed on the record of TRP 2025-54 as “correspondence”.
CRTC staff would strongly encourage the DWCC to continue to engage with the CAV directly and would note that are a number of ways to do so, including, but not limited to:
- The virtual and/or in-person events held by the CAV Outreach team across Canada.
- The biannual discussions held by the CAV with its Consumer Consultation Panel, which include nominated representatives and American Sign Language (ASL) and langue des signes québécoise (LSQ) registered stakeholder groups.
- The CAV has a customer service phone line and a live chat that is available for all VRS users across Canada and is open five days a week.
- The CAV Board of Directors has members who represent the ASL and LSQ using communities.
As a result of the above, CRTC staff considers this matter closed.
Regards,
(Original signed by)
Nanao Kachi
Director,
Social and Consumer Policy
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