Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My name is Beverley Milligan and I'm the executive director of Media Access Canada or MAC, a not-for-profit advocate for broadcast accessibility. With me is Yves Seguin, the project manager of MAC's descriptive video working group for French television.
MAC is leading the Access 2020 Coalition, which is supported by every major accessibility organization, including the Canadian Hearing Society and the Sir Arthur Pearson Association of War Blinded. Access 2020's goal is 100% accessible TV on all distribution platforms in one decade.
Tools to achieve accessibility have existed for years. Captions write out TV's I/O content while described video narrates important visual elements to answer the “What's happening now?” question that blind Canadians must otherwise ask family and friends.