ASL – Summary of the Notice of Consultation – 1 of 10
Video is also available in Langue des signes québecoise (LSQ).
Video Transcript
Call for comments – Development of a regulatory policy for closed captioning provided by online streaming undertakings
Summary
When the Online Streaming Act came into force, it amended the Broadcasting Act to include, as a policy objective, that programs should be accessible without barriers to persons with disabilities. Pursuant to paragraph 3(1)(p.1) of the Broadcasting Act, programming that is accessible without barriers to persons with disabilities should be provided within the Canadian broadcasting system, including without limitation, closed captioning services to assist persons who are Deaf or hard of hearingfootnote 1.
Closed captioning enables persons who are Deaf or hard of hearing to have full access to audio-visual content by displaying what is being said and providing additional contextual information for the viewer by describing who is speaking, what music is playing, and other audible cues.
Canadians who use closed captioning should have access to the highest possible quality of closed captioning, regardless of whether they are accessing programming online or through traditional television services.
In this public proceeding, the Commission wishes to identify, remove and prevent barriers to access online content for persons who are Deaf or hard of hearing by seeking comments on the establishment of a regulatory policy regarding closed captioning of programs provided by online streaming undertakings operating in Canada. This will help make the broadcasting system more accessible and further the policy objectives of the Broadcasting Act. It will also be consistent with the purposes of the Accessible Canada Act to make Canada free from barriers for persons with disabilities by 2040.
The Commission notes that it is not considering amendments to the current captioning standards for traditional television platforms as part of this proceeding.
The Commission is calling for comments on the questions set out in the present notice of consultation. The Commission will accept comments that it receives on or before 19 August 2024. Only parties that file comments may file a reply to matters raised during the comment phase. The deadline to file replies is 18 September 2024.
Key information from this notice is available in American Sign Language (ASL) and Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ). The Commission will accept video comments and replies in ASL and LSQ for this proceeding.
The purpose of this consultation was to find out how we can ensure that Canadians who rely on closed captioning have access to barrier-free programming online.
This video in sign language shows the content of the Summary section in the Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2024-137.
In this public proceeding, the CRTC wished to identify, remove and prevent barriers to access online content for persons who are Deaf or hard of hearing by seeking comments on the establishment of a regulatory policy regarding closed captioning of programs provided by online streaming undertakings operating in Canada.
The CRTC accepted comments on or before 19 August 2024. The deadline to file replies is 18 September 2024.
Status: Closed
This consultation first ran from June 19 to August 19, 2024. We re-opened the consultation from September 10 to December 11, 2024, to allow new participants to submit comments.
The CRTC accepted video comments and replies in ASL and LSQ for this proceeding.
Consultation on closed captioning of programming from online streaming services
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