Thank you very much for the opportunity to attend.
I'd like to start with some comments about disability in Canada, and point out that every Canadian is likely to have a disability at some time or other. Many people have had a disability all of their lives, while others may have a disability caused by an accident or an illness. It could be temporary or permanent. The process of aging brings various impairments of function that often lead to permanent disability.
Whatever the origins of disability, people wish to live as independently as possible.
In Canada, of adults over 15 years of age, approximately 16% have disabilities. Of adults over 65 years, approximately 42% have disabilities. About 23% of Canada's population will be over 65 by 2040, as compared to 12% in 1995. Canadian seniors are living longer than ever before, and as they age their experience of disability increases. The increase in the numbers of older people in our population has emphasized the importance of viewing disability within the mainstream and not as a fringe issue.
People with disabilities are determined to press for respect and dignity, and to participate in all aspects of Canadian life. Key to that participation is full and equal access to telecommunications. The current barriers are very lengthy to describe, so I'll make only a few comments with regard to telecommunications for people with disabilities.
It's important to remember that the problems experienced by people with disabilities in using telecom services are diverse, because disability is diverse. There may be problems in using the terminal and there may be problems in obtaining connections across the network. Problems with terminal equipment include inability to see markings and displays, inability to hear the ringer or the received speech, and inability to handle the instrument and its controls.
For example, individuals with little capacity to control hand movements have insufficient motor control to use keypads, given the small numbers and lack of space between the numbers. People with weakness and chronic joint pain may find it impossible to press the buttons, and even to turn the phone on or off.
All of these problems can be resolved, or at least lessened, with suitably designed terminal equipment. Frequently, however, no such suitably designed equipment is available. This situation can only be viewed as a failure of the market, which would justify regulatory intervention.
Problems in obtaining connections across the network frequently involve the terminal to some extent. People who communicate slowly or with irregular voice patterns find that the speed and inflexibility of automated services cut them off, and they become anxious when they're rushed.
For people with disabilities, access to the telephone network is governed by the performance of the telephone terminal to the same or greater extent than performance of the network itself. So facilitating telecommunication services for people with disabilities or thinking of universal service while at the same time excluding the regulation of terminal equipment will simply prove hollow.
I want to talk very briefly about the Telecommunications Policy Review Panel and its report. One of the main reasons is that in the proposed revisions of the objectives of a new Telecommunications Act, they clearly indicate that to enhance the social well-being of Canadians and the inclusiveness of Canadian society, one goal will be to facilitate access to telecommunications by people with disabilities.
An initial comment is that if you're looking at that report, the list in section 7 of social goals is a finite list. We think this cuts off the potential to regulate for the social good about matters that aren't evident at this time. So we draw that to your attention about the telecom policy's review.
Secondly, with respect to that report, they mention that there should be a facilitation of telecommunications services for people with disabilities. It's our view and our submission that this doesn't meet the standards in Canadian law, and in fact the policy should be to ensure access to telecommunications services for people and Canadians with disabilities.
There are two recommendations of the report that are very important that we'd like to underscore. One was recommendation 2-6 of the telecommunications policy report. That was the one where the CRTC “should be empowered to directly regulate all telecommunications service providers” and not pick and choose.
The second is the development of a consistent application of policy by amending relevant federal legislation to ensure that all government departments and agencies that implement telecommunication maintain the consistency of telecommunications policy. This consistent application of policy is very important for people with disabilities because it is the way that Canadians who have disabilities will eventually be able to have terminal equipment that is accessible. It is essential that Industry Canada be regulated with respect to this issue as well.