OTTAWA — The CRTC announced Wednesday it has approved the application submitted by the Canadian Administrator of VRS (CAV) for $16,032,739 in funding from the National Contribution Fund (NCF) for 2020.
Access to this funding will enable the CAV to continue to offer video relay service in Canada to the benefit of all Canadians, as envisioned by the Commission in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2014-187, the CRTC said today in its decision. Video relay service (VRS) enables people who use sign language to conduct telephone calls and communicate with voice telephone users using sign language. VRS connects a sign language user with another party via an operator who can interpret between sign language and spoken language.
The amount of funding requested by the CAV and approved by the CRTC represents projected expenditures of $22,042,492 for 2020, minus a projected surplus of $6,009,753 for 2019. In its application, the CAV requested that detailed figures for professional services and operations costs be designated as confidential, stating that such disclosure would result in material financial loss, prejudice its position, and affect contractual negotiations with third parties. The CRTC received no interventions regarding the CAV’s application.
The CRTC has directed the central fund administrator of the NCF to remit the approved amount to the CAV in 12 equal monthly instalments, beginning in January 2020.
