1 WRITTEN SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATIONS BILL C-11

AN ACT TO AMEND THE BROADCASTING ACT ELIMINATING BARRIERS TO CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY FOR CANADIANS WITH DISABILITIES JUNE 2022

2 • RECOMMENDATION 1: That the Senate Committee on Transport & Communications recognize and support the role that Bill C-11

An Act to Amend the Broadcasting Act will play in eliminating barriers to broadcasting content accessibility for Canadians with disabilities once it is passed into law. • RECOMMENDATION 2: That the language of Bill C-11, “This enactment amends the Broadcasting Act to, among other things… specify that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the “Commission”) must regulate and supervise the Canadian broadcasting system in a manner that… facilitates the provision of programs that are accessible without barriers to persons with disabilities...” remain intact.

3 Broadcasting Accessibility Fund Submission to the Senate Committee on Transport & Communications Bill C-11

An Act to Amend the Broadcasting Act Eliminating Barriers to Broadcasting Content Accessibility for Canadians with Disabilities Background The Broadcasting Accessibility Fund (the Fund) is an independent not for profit funding body that provides grants for innovative projects in English and French, to advance accessibility to broadcasting content across multiple platforms for Canadians with disabilities.

Established through CRTC Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2012-430 and driven by a concerted effort by consumer groups representing people with disabilities to include “accessibility” as part of benefits arising from broadcasting industry transactions, the Fund has been in operation since 2014 – and is the only fund of its kind, anywhere. The Fund was originally provided with a $5.7M capital contribution (purchase of CTV by Bell Media) and a subsequent direct benefit of $680,000 (acquisition of Astral Media by Bell Media), the latter dedicated to French-language projects.

To date the Fund has completed seven cycles of grant awards, supporting 38 projects with a total of $4.1M committed to addressing on-going gaps in broadcasting accessibility. All projects are approved by a nine-member Board of Directors (six Accessibility Directors and three Broadcasting Industry Directors). Successful applications to the Fund provide evidence that they will improve accessibility to broadcasting content in the areas of hearing, sight, cognitive and/or mobility disabilities through R&D, Education, Business Development, or a combination of these.

Project results from 2014 to 2022 include but are not limited to: • Major developments in Closed Captioning, through the application of AI technologies and voice recognition research that address the key issue of captioning accuracy for live programming content.

4 • Significant advancements in Described Video, in both English and French broadcasting content, enriching the experience for persons with sight disabilities alongside potential cost reductions for broadcasters. • Exploring a number of solutions through apps, infrared technologies and other device improvements enabling persons with mobility disabilities greater levels of accessibility to content on various platforms. • Delivering accessibility professionals to the broadcasting workplace through several degree and certificate programs offered by post-secondary institutions with our support.

The Fund operates with two full-time staff and limited contract support and will continue to do so moving forward. Our average grant per project is approximately $109K, recognizing that the best results are those that become self-sufficient after an initial push from the Fund.

The Significance of Bill C-11 It is the position of the Fund that Bill C-11, once enshrined in law, will facilitate the elimination of barriers to content accessibility for Canadians with disabilities by enabling the CRTC to exercise its regulatory authority over online broadcast entities and administer subsequent contributions to the Canadian broadcasting system that will support the policy provisions of the bill.

While significant progress has been made on addressing a number of content accessibility barriers through our work at the Fund, progress is incremental, and success can only be fully achieved over the long term. It is the view of the Fund that the provisions of Bill C-11, in concert with the Accessible Canada Act will work to drive solutions to the considerable barriers to content accessibility that remain.

To this end, the Fund is committed to supporting solutions that will: • Continue to address issues related to live Closed Captioning (e.g., live sports, news & special events), with a particular focus on new voice recognition technologies. • Improve the experience while reducing the cost of Described Video, potentially enabling broadcasters to expand its production. • Harness the massive potential of AI in accessibility technologies, an area that may warrant a call for specialized research and development. • Research and drive content accessibility for people with exceptionalities, which requires longer term, highly technical study. • Continue to tap into and grow the talent pool of accessibility professionals in Canada, a stated goal for the Fund from the broadcasting industry. • Pursue unique opportunities with partners; for example, an initiative focusing on content accessibility in native languages for indigenous youth with hearing loss (which is 3X - 5X the national average). • Challenge post-secondary institutions to focus their deep R&D skills on content accessibility barriers through University Challenges and other initiatives – contributing to the growth of Canadian accessibility culture.

5 Conclusion The Fund recognizes key milestones in accessibility achieved by government to date, including passage of the Accessible Canada Act and the establishment of a portfolio that specifically mandates disability inclusion. To this end, the Fund is well positioned as a driver of solutions on the accessibility landscape. Over the past eight years, the Broadcasting Accessibility Fund has achieved measurable results in addressing barriers to content accessibility.

The passage of Bill C-11 into law will effectively amplify this impact, and will drive the innovation, creativity and inclusive design that are critical to overcoming these on-going challenges for Canadians with disabilities. The Fund would be pleased to appear before the Senate Committee on Transport & Communications to discuss the importance of Bill C-11 for persons with disabilities and answer any questions you may have. Thank you for considering our submission.

Richard Cavanagh CEO/Funding Officer Broadcasting Accessibility Fund richard@baf-far.ca www.baf-far.ca Project Summaries: www.baf-far.ca/en/results www.baf-far.ca/fr/résultats