Summary of the review of Video Relay Service and Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2025-54
A sign language interpretation of the policy review summary is available as a video playlist.
Video Relay Service (VRS) is a basic telecommunications service that enables people whose primary language is American Sign Language (ASL) or Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ) to communicate with voice telephone users. This summary explains important details about the new policy for VRS and what happens next. For more details, please read the full policy on Video Relay Service.
On this page
- Review of the service
- What we found
- Funding
- What’s next
- Indigenous Sign Languages
- Minimum requirements for the Canadian Administrator of VRS
- More information
Review of the service
In 2021, the CRTC began a review of its 2014 policies on Video Relay Service, as well as the structure and mandate of the Canadian Administrator of Video Relay Service.
The goals of this review were to:
- make sure that VRS is meeting the needs of Canadians who use it;
- make sure that the Canadian Administrator of VRS continues to be an effective administrator with enough funds to operate; and
- consider whether the regulatory framework needed to be updated.
What we found
VRS empowers its users by providing the freedom and independence to communicate in real time with family and friends. This is particularly important for employment, education, healthcare, and social connectedness. Currently, VRS in Canada meets the needs of Canadians and should continue to be offered as a basic telecommunication service. The CRTC is committed to accessibility and continues to support VRS.
The Canadian Administrator of Video Relay Service’s mandate also continues to be responsive to the needs of users, with a few changes needed to make the service more inclusive, diverse, transparent, and accountable. The CRTC is giving the administrator flexibility and resources to improve the service and make use of new technologies.
The CRTC’s review was informed by:
- VRS users;
- the Canadian Administrator of VRS;
- telecommunications service providers;
- organizations representing the Deaf and hard of hearing community – including the Deafblind community; and
- feedback received during a series of virtual discussion sessions.
The CRTC also used feedback from 16 focus groups conducted by Sage Research CorporationExternal link, as well as a comparative report from Eviance that looked at how other VRS services are offered internationally.
Funding
The CRTC has streamlined the funding request process for the Canadian Administrator of VRS, to make it easier and more transparent. This new process also reduces the administrative burden on the Canadian Administrator of VRS and ensures it can receive the funding it needs more efficiently. The CRTC also increased the Canadian Administrator of VRS’s annual funding cap to $41 million to improve its services.
What’s next
The Canadian Administrator of VRS must provide a roadmap to the CRTC that outlines its service improvements for the next five years. The roadmap must also include updates in its annual report.
The Canadian Administrator of VRS must also:
- complete its study on the needs of Deafblind and low vision VRS users, and what improvements could be made;
- determine how the Canadian Administrator of VRS ’s board of directors can be modified to include voting positions for Indigenous and Deafblind board members;
- report on planned and unplanned outages, and other disruption notifications;
- report on how users prefer to be notified of new features and bug fixes; and
- submit an updated outreach and education plan.
Indigenous Sign Languages
The Canadian Administrator of VRS is required to consult with VRS users and potential users who self-identify as Indigenous, and who use ASL or LSQ as their primary language, to understand their specific needs. Consultations must be developed in collaboration with Indigenous peoples. The Canadian Administrator of VRS is required to update on its progress on these consultations in their annual report.
Also, the CRTC intends to launch a consultation to understand how Indigenous Sign Languages are used in Canada and assess the availability of interpreters who can sign in these languages.
Minimum requirements for the Canadian Administrator of VRS
The Canadian Administrator of VRS has several requirements it must meet for the service it delivers. Below is a summary of some of the requirements.
The administrator must:
- Operate and monitor a national VRS that meets all the new policy requirements.
- Operate the VRS following its bylaws, mandate, and other corporate documents approved by the CRTC.
- Inform the CRTC of any changes to how complaints are handled or how data is recorded and maintained.
- Inform the CRTC of any changes to privacy and confidentiality standards for the VRS.
- Create and share, within 12 months following the publication of the updated VRS Policy, an updated outreach and education plan with the CRTC to promote the VRS to everyone, including people with and without disabilities, businesses, and institutions.
- Demonstrate that all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that ASL and LSQ services are equally comprehensive, regardless of whether ASL and LSQ customers are served by the same or separate VRS providers.
- Ensure that staff and advisory panels advising the Board of Directors include perspectives from ASL and LSQ communities.
- Engage regularly with Indigenous people who use or might use the VRS to understand their needs and provide an update in their annual report on engagement efforts and planned next steps.
For a full list of the minimum requirements, please read Appendix 3 of the Policy.
More information
- Date modified: