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Most Canadians take for granted that they can look up the telephone number of a federally regulated business, such as a bank, transportation company or broadcaster, in the telephone directory or on the Internet, make a phone call to that organization, and get the information or service they are seeking. However, this is not the case for people who are Deaf, deafened, hard of hearing and, as a result, cannot use the regular phone service. Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, federally regulated businesses have a duty to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities by providing equitable access to employment, services and programs. A new report, issued by the Commission today, documents that this is clearly not the case at present. No Answer II: A Review of Federally Regulated Organizations’ Telephonic Communications with People Who Are Deaf, Deafened or Hard of Hearing is the second of a series of two looking at communication access for people who are Deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. The first report, No Answer: A Review of Government of Canada Telephonic Communication with People Who are Deaf, Deafened, Hard of Hearing, or have a Speech Impediment, was published in July 2005. The new report shows that people who cannot use the regular telephone system are at a serious disadvantage when communicating because organizations either do not provide TTY service or, if they do, it often does not work. People who want to make a TTY call have around a one-in-four chance to find a number listed for a TTY. Furthermore, when a TTY is listed, they have less than a 50/50 chance to complete a call successfully. The report makes several recommendations regarding the establishment of policies and standards, the publication of TTY numbers, staff training and the use of new technologies. The Commission will continue to monitor the situation and work with federally regulated organizations to ensure accessible telephonic communications. The Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS), conducted by Statistics Canada in 2001, found that 2.8 million Canadians reported having hearing loss. Hearing loss is associated with aging, meaning that the incidence of hearing loss is likely to increase in the coming years as the baby boom generation greys. This will make the need for accessible communication systems even more important. No Answer II was produced by the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s Strategic Initiatives Program, which looks into systemic issues that have an impact on a group of people or on human rights overall in Canada and proposes actions and solutions to address these issues outside of the complaint system. The Commission believes that reviews such as No Answer II play an important role in advancing human rights and will continue to carry out special projects and initiatives that promote systemic change. I encourage you to read No Answer II and consult our website regularly for information about the Commission’s work and about human rights. David Langtry
Commissioner
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