Accessibility

Appendix A – Broadcasting Act requirements

As required by section 42(1) of the ACA, this Appendix sets out:

• • 42(1)(b) - the conditions imposed by licence, issued under Part II of the Broadcasting Act, to which some or all BCE broadcasting undertakings are subject that relate to the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers;
• • 42(1)(c) - the provisions of any order made under subsection 9(4) of the Broadcasting Act that relate to the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers and that apply to some or all BCE broadcasting undertakings; and
• • 42(1)(d) - the provisions of any regulations made under subsection 10(1) of the Broadcasting Act that relate to the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers and that apply to some or all BCE broadcasting undertakings.

This Appendix does not include requirements that have not been in force for at least three months before the day on which the Progress Report must be published ^{2 footnote 2} or expectations/encouragements, which do not rise to the level of imposed conditions.

A. Accessibility requirements – Broadcasting Distribution Undertakings (BDUs) and On-demand (OS) services

• 1.  Distribution of programming services
  • • In the small basic package, BDUs are required to distribute AMI-Audio and AMI-tv in Anglophone markets, as well as AMI-télé and Canal M in Francophone markets. ^{3 footnote 3} This applies to licensed BDUs as well as exempt BDUs with more than 2,000 subscribers. ^{4 footnote 4}
• 2.  Closed Captioning (CC), Audio Description (AD) and Described Video (DV)
  • • Pass-through of CC and DV: BDUs cannot alter the content or format of a programming service or delete a programming service in the course of its distribution. ^{5 footnote 5}
  • • Community channels:
    • - BDUs shall provide AD of all key elements of information programming and appropriate training to hosts/access producers. ^{6 footnote 6}
  • • OS services:
    • - BDUs must ensure that 100% of English and French programs in inventory are CC (except community access TV programming). ^{7 footnote 7}
    • - BDUs must implement a monitoring system to ensure that the correct signal is captioned, captioning is included in the broadcast signal, and captioning reaches the distributor of that signal in original form. ^{8 footnote 8}
    • - When providing CC, English- and French-language OS services must meet quality standards about, among other things, lag time and accuracy. ^{9 footnote 9}
• 3.  Equipment that supports accessibility
  • • BDUs must provide equipment, software or other technology for customers with visual or fine motor skills disabilities to identify and have access to programming services. ^{10 footnote 10}
  • • BCE BDUs’ Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) Annual Returns must include information on the following: availability of accessible set top boxes (STBs), remotes and accessibility features, penetration of accessible STBs and remotes, and number of accessibility-related queries received/resolved. ^{11 footnote 11}
  • • BCE BDUs must provide at least one simple means of accessing described programming (open or embedded) requiring little or no visual acuity. ^{12 footnote 12}
• 4.  Customer service related
  • • Promotion and customer service:
    • - BCE BDUs shall promote disability-specific services/products in an accessible manner. ^{13 footnote 13}
    • - BCE BDUs shall make their general call centres accessible to the point of providing a reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities by training customer service representatives to handle calls from persons with disabilities and familiarizing them with products and services for persons with disabilities, and by making their Interactive Voice Response systems accessible. ^{14 footnote 14}
  • • Trial period and alternative formats:
    • - BDUs, as television service providers (TVSPs), must offer a 30-day trial period to a customer/member of a household who self-identifies as having a disability. If service/equipment does not meet the customer’s needs for any reason, a customer must be able to cancel the service within the trial period without penalty, installation fees or early cancellation fees if they have returned any gift with purchase and any equipment provided (in near new condition). ^{15 footnote 15}
    • - BDUs, as TVSPs, must provide alternative formats of written agreements and the Critical Information Summary, upon request, at no charge, at any time. ^{16 footnote 16}
    • - Accessibility plans, progress reports, and descriptions of feedback processes published under the ACA must be made available, upon request, in print, large print, braille, audio format, electronic format that is compatible with adaptive technology that is intended to assist persons with disabilities, or any other format that the person and the regulated broadcasting entity agree upon and for which there is proof of the agreement. ^{17 footnote 17}
• 5.  Website accessibility
  • • BCE BDUs must have an easy-to-find home page link to a section of their websites “dealing with the needs of persons with disabilities”. ^{18 footnote 18}
  • • BCE BDUs must make information on their websites accessible to the point of providing a reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. ^{19 footnote 19}
  • • Where customer service functions on their websites are not accessible, BCE BDUs must ensure that persons with disabilities will not incur a charge or otherwise be disadvantaged if they use an alternate avenue of customer service. ^{20 footnote 20}
  • • BCE BDUs shall make accessible any customer service functions that are available solely over their websites. ^{21 footnote 21}
  • • Accessibility plans, progress reports, and descriptions of feedback processes published under the ACA must be published in a way that meets W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) guidelines. ^{22 footnote 22}

B. Accessibility requirements – programming undertakings

• 1.  Offering CC
  • • Television Stations (TS) requirements:
    • - TS must caption 100% of English- and French-language programs broadcast over the broadcast day. ^{23 footnote 23}
    • - TS must ensure that advertising, sponsorship messages and promos in English and French languages are closed captioned. ^{24 footnote 24}
    • - TS must implement a monitoring system to ensure that, for any signal that is closed captioned, the correct signal is captioned, the captioning is included in its broadcast signal, and this captioning reaches the distributor of that signal, in its original form. ^{25 footnote 25}
    • - When providing CC, English- and French-language TS must meet quality standards about, among other things, lag time and accuracy. ^{26 footnote 26}
  • • Discretionary Services (DS) requirements:
    • - DS must caption 100% of English- and French-language programs broadcast over the broadcast day. ^{27 footnote 27}
    • - A DS operating in its first licence term shall ensure that advertising, sponsorship messages and promos in the English and French languages are closed captioned by no later than the fourth year of the licence term. For a DS operating in its second or subsequent licence term, it shall ensure that advertising, sponsorship messages and promos in the English and French languages are closed captioned. ^{28 footnote 28}
    • - DS should implement a monitoring system to ensure that, for any signal that is closed captioned, the correct signal is captioned, the captioning is included in its broadcast signal, and this captioning reaches the distributor of that signal, in its original form. ^{29 footnote 29}
    • - When providing CC, English- and French-language DS must meet quality standards about, among other things, lag time and accuracy. ^{30 footnote 30}
  • • OS requirements:
    • - OS must caption 100% of English- and French-language programs in its inventory. ^{31 footnote 31}
    • - OS should implement a monitoring system to ensure that, for any signal that is closed captioned, the correct signal is captioned, the captioning is included in its broadcast signal, and this captioning reaches the distributor of that signal, in its original form. ^{32 footnote 32}
    • - When providing CC, English- and French-language OS must meet quality standards about, among other things, lag time and accuracy. ^{33 footnote 33}
  • • Mainstream Sports Services (MSS):
    • - MSS shall caption 100% of programs over the broadcast day. ^{34 footnote 34}
    • - When providing CC, MSS shall adhere to quality standards about, among other things, lag time and accuracy. ^{35 footnote 35}
    • - MSS must implement a monitoring system to ensure that, for any signal that is closed captioned, the correct signal is captioned, the captioning is included in its broadcast signal and this captioning reaches the distributor of that signal in its original form. ^{36 footnote 36}
  • • National News Services (NNS):
    • - NNS shall caption 100% of its programs over the broadcast day. ^{37 footnote 37}
    • - When providing CC, NNS shall adhere to quality standards about, among other things, lag time and accuracy. ^{38 footnote 38}
    • - NSS shall ensure that advertising, sponsorship messages and promos in the English and French languages are closed captioned. ^{39 footnote 39}
    • - NSS shall implement a monitoring system to ensure that, for any signal that is closed captioned, the correct signal is captioned, the captioning is included in its broadcast signal and this captioning reaches the distributor of that signal in its original form. ^{40 footnote 40}
• 2.  Offering AD
  • • “Audio Description” or “AD” refers to announcers reading aloud the textual and graphic information that is displayed on the screen during information programs.
  • • TS and DS shall provide AD for all the key elements of Canadian information programs, including news programming. ^{41 footnote 41}
  • • MSS shall provide AD for all the key elements of information programs, including news programming. ^{42 footnote 42}
  • • NNS shall provide AD for all the key elements of information programs, including news programming. ^{43 footnote 43}
• 3.  Offering DV
  • • Television stations:
    • - BCE television stations shall provide DV for all English- and French-language programming that is broadcast during prime time (i.e., from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.) and that is drawn from specific program categories ^{44 footnote 44} , with the exception of U.S. programming received without described video less than 24 hours prior to air. Such programs will be broadcast with described video for any repeat airings scheduled greater than 24 hours from delivery. In such cases, a logo is to be displayed at the start of the first airing and an audio notification is to be provided indicating that repeat broadcasts will be aired with full DV at a future time. ^{45 footnote 45}
  • • Discretionary services:
    • - BCE discretionary services shall provide DV for all English- and French-language programming that is broadcast during prime time (i.e., from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.) and that is drawn from specific program categories ^{46 footnote 46} with the exception of U.S. programming received without described video less than 24 hours prior to air. Such programs will be broadcast with described video for any repeat airings scheduled greater than 24 hours from delivery. In such cases, a logo is to be displayed at the start of the first airing and an audio notification is to be provided indicating that repeat broadcasts will be aired with full DV at a future time. ^{47 footnote 47}
  • • National News Services:
    • - NNS subject to DV requirements prior to renewal or that belong to a vertically integrated entity shall provide DV for programming broadcast between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week, drawn from specific program categories. ^{48 footnote 48 49 footnote 49}
• 4.  Filing reports with the CRTC
  • • For French-language services, every two years broadcasters must provide the CRTC with a report describing their efforts made in-house and requests to captioning providers in order to improve the accuracy rate. ^{50 footnote 50}
  • • For English-language services, every year, broadcasters must provide the Commission with a report describing their efforts made in-house and requests to caption providers to improve the English-language CC accuracy rate for live television programming during the broadcast year. ^{51 footnote 51}
  • • Bell Media must file the Described Video Working Group Report every six months. ^{52 footnote 52}
• 5.  Alternative formats and website accessibility
  • • Accessibility plans, progress reports, and descriptions of feedback processes published under the ACA must be made available, upon request, in print, large print, braille, audio format, electronic format that is compatible with adaptive technology that is intended to assist persons with disabilities, or any other format that the person and the regulated broadcasting entity agree upon and for which there is proof of the agreement. ^{53 footnote 53}
  • • Accessibility plans, progress reports, and descriptions of feedback processes published under the ACA must be published in a way that meets WCAG guidelines. ^{54 footnote 54}

Appendix B – Telecommunications Act requirements

As required by section 51(1) of the ACA, this Appendix sets out:

• • 51(1)(b) - the conditions imposed under section 24 or 24.1 of the Telecommunications Act to which some or all of BCE is subject that relate to the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers; and
• • 51(1)(c) - the provisions of any regulations made under the Telecommunications Act that relate to the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers and that apply to some or all of BCE.

This Appendix does not include requirements that have not been in force for at least three months before the day on which the Progress Report must be published ^{55 footnote 55} or expectations/encouragements, which do not rise to the level of imposed conditions.

• 1.  Offering and promotion of accessible products and services
  • • Wireless Service Providers (WSPs) must offer mobile wireless service plans that meet the needs of Canadians with disabilities. ^{56 footnote 56}
  • • WSPs must promote and publicize their disability-specific products and services on their websites and using other methods. ^{57 footnote 57}
  • • WSPs must offer at least one type of wireless mobile handset that will provide access for persons who are blind and/or have moderate-to-severe mobility or cognitive disabilities. ^{58 footnote 58}
  • • Telecommunications Service Providers (TSPs) must make general call centres accessible to the point of providing a reasonable accommodation by training customer service representatives to handle questions from persons with disabilities and familiarizing customer service representatives with accessible products and services. ^{59 footnote 59}
  • • Internet Service Providers (ISPs) subject to the Internet Code must ensure that customer service representatives receive training on rights and responsibilities under the Internet Code, including accessibility needs. ^{60 footnote 60}
  • • TSPs must make their interactive voice response (IVR) systems accessible. A service provider with a disability call centre could meet this requirement by developing and implementing a process for the appropriate transfer of calls to that call centre. ^{61 footnote 61}
  • • Bell Canada and Bell Mobility must use funds from Bell Canada’s deferral account to implement certain initiatives to enhance access to telecommunications services for persons with disabilities. Bell Canada and Bell Mobility must file annual reports about these initiatives until the deferral funds are fully used. ^{62 footnote 62}
  • • A Critical Information Summary, provided under either the Internet Code or the Wireless Code, must set out information, including about the extended trial period for customers who self-identify as having a disability. ^{63 footnote 63}
  • • ISPs subject to the Internet Code must file compliance reports including a description of how they are ensuring that their customer service representatives are knowledgeable about rights and responsibilities under the Internet Code, including those related to persons with disabilities. ^{64 footnote 64}
  • • Certain WSPs must create and promote videos in American sign language (ASL) or langue des signes québécoise (LSQ) to promote the Wireless Code and explain common terminology. ^{65 footnote 65}
  • • ISPs subject to the Internet Code must create and promote videos in ASL/LSQ to promote the Internet Code, including the extended trial period for persons with disabilities, and explain common terminology. ^{66 footnote 66}
  • • TSPs that will transition to ten-digit local dialing in order to implement 9-8-8 must provide information about the transition to ten-digit local dialing in ASL and LSQ. ^{67 footnote 67}
  • • WSPs must engage in regular, at least yearly, consultations with persons with disabilities and groups representing their interests. ^{68 footnote 68}
  • • WSPs must file annual reports in an accessible format regarding accessible plans and ongoing consultations. These annual reports must include certain types of information specified by the Commission. ^{69 footnote 69}
• 2.  Message Relay Service (MRS)
  • • All local exchange carriers (LECs) must provide teletypewriter (TTY) and Internet protocol (IP) Relay services to their telephone customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ^{70 footnote 70}
  • • WSPs must provide IP Relay to their retail customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ^{71 footnote 71}
  • • MRS Providers ^{72 footnote 72} providing IP Relay and MRS Providers with an obligation to provide TTY must meet the minimum requirements set out in Appendix 1 to TRP 2018-466. ^{73 footnote 73}
  • • Certain TSPs must file annual reports on quality of service data, as set out in Appendix 2 to TRP 2018-466. ^{74 footnote 74}
  • • TSPs must fund video relay service (VRS) via the National Contribution Fund. ^{75 footnote 75}
  • • Bell Canada and certain affiliates must equip certain of their payphones with TTY. ^{76 footnote 76}
  • • WSPs must take steps to ensure that Deaf and Hard of Hearing sign language users are able to make and receive calls through VRS in a comparable way to hearing users accessing voice services. ^{77 footnote 77}
• 3.  Trial periods
  • • If a customer self-identifies as a person with a disability, then ISPs subject to the Internet Code must offer an extended trial period of at least 30 days, and the permitted usage amounts must be at least double the service provider’s usage limits for the standard trial period. ^{78 footnote 78}
  • • If a customer self-identifies as a person with a disability, then WSPs must offer a 30 day extended trial period, and the permitted usage amounts must be at least double the service provider’s usage limits for the standard trial period. WSPs must also promote the extended trial period in the accessibility section of their website. ^{79 footnote 79}
• 4.  9-1-1
  • • MRS providers must provide access to 9-1-1 service. ^{80 footnote 80}
  • • WSPs and incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) must provide Text with 9-1-1 service. ^{81 footnote 81}
• 5.  Alternative formats
  • • TSPs must provide paper bills upon request at no charge to customers who self-identify as a person with a disability. ^{82 footnote 82}
  • • Canadian carriers must provide bills, bill inserts, and information setting out the rates, terms and conditions in alternative accessible formats, such as in braille or large print, for people with a visual disability. ^{83 footnote 83}
  • • ISPs subject to the Internet Code must provide a copy of the contract, related documents, and Critical Information Summary in an accessible format for persons with disabilities upon request, at no charge. ^{84 footnote 84}
  • • WSPs must provide a copy of the contract, related documents, and Critical Information Summary in an accessible format for persons with disabilities upon request, at no charge. ^{85 footnote 85}
  • • ILECs/TSPs, as applicable, must provide the following documents in alternative formats to persons with visual impairments, upon request: information on the National Do Not Call List, information on Bill Management Tools, retail quality of service information, notification of the removal of the last payphone in a community, the incumbent local exchange carriers’ communications plans on local forbearance, and information on dialing plan changes. ^{86 footnote 86}
  • • Accessibility plans, progress reports, and descriptions of feedback processes published under the ACA must be made available, upon request, in print, large print, braille, audio format, electronic format that is compatible with adaptive technology that is intended to assist persons with disabilities, or any other format that the person and the regulated entity agree upon and for which there is proof of the agreement. ^{87 footnote 87}
• 6.  Website accessibility
  • • TSPs must make the information on telecommunications and broadcasting services and products on their websites accessible to the point of providing a reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. ^{88 footnote 88}
  • • TSPs must make customer service functions that are available solely over the service providers' websites accessible. If a customer service function on the service providers’ website is not accessible, then persons with disabilities can not be charged or disadvantaged for using an alternate channel to access those functions ^{89 footnote 89}
  • • TSPs must have an easy-to-find home page link to the accessibility section of their websites, if their websites include such sections. ^{90 footnote 90}
  • • If a service provider subject to the Internet Code applies overage fees, the service provider must offer tools, at no charge, to help a customer monitor and manage their data usage and any additional fees incurred during a monthly billing cycle. These tools must be accessible to customers with disabilities. ^{91 footnote 91}
  • • MRS providers must ensure that any IP Relay related web and mobile interfaces meet W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). ^{92 footnote 92}
  • • Accessibility plans, progress reports, and descriptions of feedback processes published under the ACA must be published in a way that meets WCAG guidelines. ^{93 footnote 93}
• 7.  Passing on obligations
  • • Canadian carriers, as a condition of offering and providing telecommunications services to non-carriers, ^{94 footnote 94} must include in their tariffs and in service contracts or other arrangements with these non-carriers, the requirement that the non-carriers and all of their wholesale customers and subordinate wholesale customers, abide by certain obligations, including those set out in the Appendix to TRP 2017-11 related to accessibility and the removal of barriers. ^{95 footnote 95}