Canadian coalition creates Access 2020

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Thursday, 16 December 2010 17:11pm

A coalition of Canadian accessibility organisations has formed to achieve full captioning and audio description on television content in Canada by 2020. The aptly named Access 2020 will use the CRTC (the Canadian media regulator) hearings into vertical integration in May 2011 as the starting point for this new policy approach.

Access 2020 is taking the view that 1% of TV ownership transactions from now until 2015 should be spent on accessibility research, standards development and third-party monitoring of access.  The crux of the argument is that media organisations gain significant benefits from being allowed to vertically integrate, and consumers should also receive benefits, including proper disability access. 

The coalition is headed by Media Access Canada and includes the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, the Canadian Council of Disabilities and the Ontario March of Dimes.

The first report of Monitor 2, a Canada-wide study of access compliance, is expected in early 2011, followed by quality reporting in 2012.


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