Broadcasting and Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2009-430-1

Route reference:

Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing 2008-8 and 2009-430

Additional reference: 2009-430

File number: 8665-C12-200807943

Ottawa, 17 December 2009

Accessibility of telecommunications and broadcasting services – Correction

1. The Commission hereby corrects Broadcasting and Telecom Regulatory Policy 2009-430 by amending paragraph 48 to read as follows (the change is in bold):

As set out in Telecom Order 96-1191 and Telecom Order 98-626, the Commission considers that the provision of certain information to customers is a telecommunications service under section 23 of the Telecommunications Act as it is incidental to the business of providing telecommunications services. In a 1996 Commission Letter Decision with respect to a specific cable distribution undertaking,¹¹ the Commission noted that the provision to subscribers of bills and information concerning programs and channel line-ups is integral to the functions of a cable distribution undertaking. The Commission remains of the same view and considers this to be equally the case for all BDUs. In this regard, the Commission notes that customer service information ensures that subscribers may benefit fully from the service provided by the BDU.

2. The Commission further corrects Broadcasting and Telecom Regulatory Policy 2009-430 by amending paragraph 108 to read as follows (the change is in bold):

Currently conventional broadcasters must, according to their conditions of licence, fulfil obligations to provide described video with drama, documentaries and children's programming, which lend themselves well to described video. In order to provide these broadcasters with a measure of flexibility and to take into account requests from persons with disabilities for a wider choice of described programming, the Commission considers it appropriate to add two more categories of programming to those that licensees of conventional television stations may use to fulfil their commitments for described video: 9 Variety and 11 General entertainment and human interest. Therefore, the conditions of licence imposed on conventional television stations from now on will allow them to fulfil their commitments for described video with programming from the following categories: 2(b) Long-form documentary; 7(a) Ongoing Dramatic Series; 7(b) Ongoing comedy series (sitcoms); 7(c) Specials, mini-series or made-for-TV feature films; 7(d) Theatrical feature films aired on TV; 7(e) Animated television programs and films; 7(f) Comedy; 7(g) Other drama; 9 Variety; and 11 General entertainment and human interest, as well as programming targeted to children. Conventional television stations that currently have conditions of licence with respect to described video may apply to amend their conditions of licence to take advantage of this flexibility.

3. Finally, the Commission corrects the French-language version of Broadcasting and Telecom Regulatory Policy 2009-430 by amending paragraph 65 to read as follows (the change is in bold):

Le Conseil incite les FST et toutes les EDR à adopter les Normes W3C du World Wide Web Consortium pour l'accessibilité des contenus Web (les normes W3C) et à en tester l'efficacité auprès des utilisateurs en vue de faciliter dans toute la mesure du possible l'accès des personnes handicapées aux pages de leur site qui concernent le service à la clientèle. Le Conseil exige que les FST, les EDR de classe 1 et les EDR par SRD veillent à ce que l'information sur les produits et services de télécommunication et de radiodiffusion affichée sur leur site web soit suffisamment accessible aux personnes handicapées pour constituer un accommodement raisonnable et qu’ils déterminent la façon de réaliser cet objectif, au plus tard le 23 juillet 2012.

Secretary General

This document is available in alternative format upon request, and may also be examined in PDF format or in HTML at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca.

Date modified:

2009-12-17