Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you for the opportunity to present to you today on behalf of Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility.

As a national leader in communication accessibility, we represent the interests and needs of people who are deaf, deaf-blind and hard of hearing. It is critical that any vision of Canada without barriers by 2040 consider the specific challenges and unique accessibility needs of this community.

My name is Christopher Sutton. I'm wearing a dark suit with a baby blue shirt and navy tie. I have a short beard, dark hair and am wearing glasses. I serve as the CEO for Wavefront Centre, and it's been an honour to address this committee in the past as an expert on accessibility.

Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working to advance the rights and opportunities for people with disabilities across corporate, non-profit and government sectors. This work is deeply personal to me as it comes from my own experience growing up with barriers and my desire to ensure that others do not face the same challenges.

Despite my education and my professional success, I continue to navigate daily challenges as someone living with an invisible disability. This ongoing reality drives my commitment to creating a more inclusive and accessible society for everyone.

I previously appeared before this committee during its review of Bill C-81, the Accessible Canada Act. At that time, along with many others in the disability community, I expressed strong support for the bill's passage. Although recommendations were made to strengthen it, the act was seen largely as a significant step forward in creating a barrier-free and accessible Canada.

Now, over five years after the passage of the Accessible Canada Act, we are seeing this impact take shape through the development and adoption of standards. A key outcome has been the introduction of accessibility legislation in other jurisdictions, such as British Columbia, which is modelled after the federal act. These jurisdictions sought leadership and support from the federal government and the bodies established under the act as they created their own standards and regulations.

In my community, we've also seen an increase in the demand for sign language interpretation, captioning and other communication access. I believe this was due to the visibility of these services during the pandemic, which has made it a common practice for emergency and other situations. This demand has been positive, but at the same time has created bottlenecks in providing the level of services to meet the overall needs and demands of the community.

While progress is evident, much work remains to be done to fully realize a vision of an accessible Canada. Last week was International Week of Deaf Persons, a global celebration observed to show the significance of the deaf community. It was really exciting that the deaf flag was raised in Ottawa and many other cities across Canada. It is a powerful symbol of growing visibility and national recognition.

Still, we all know that my appearance before this committee was cancelled due to accessibility barriers. This highlights the complexity to access but also reflects the necessary cultural challenges of being aware of potential issues and finding solutions to ensure that everyone can have equitable access.

Despite the advances made, particularly since the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act, we still have a long journey to achieve a barrier-free society by 2040. Our communities continue to encounter challenges that require substantial attention, resources and action. The unfortunate events of last week serve as a reminder that accessibility is not just an aspiration but a fundamental right, demanding a collective commitment to dismantling barriers that remain.

In the following, I'll highlight some key areas that we believe are necessary for people who are deaf, deaf-blind and hard of hearing so they can fully participate in all aspects of Canada without barriers.

Communication is a fundamental right in order to participate in society. For individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing, everyday interactions, whether accessing services, attending school, going to the doctor or participating in the workforce, can be negatively impacted by communication barriers. While Canada has made great steps, accessibility to employment, education and public services continues to be a challenge each day.

At Wavefront, we recognize and see these barriers that individuals face daily and their inability to participate in their communities or advance their careers due to lack of appropriate accommodations.

To address this, we've advocated increased investment in technologies such as captioning, sign language interpretation services and audio accessibility technologies. Beyond technologies, we must ensure that service providers, employers and institutions understand how to support communication access and make it a priority.

For people who are deaf-blind, the barriers are even more complex. A colleague of mine who will be presenting today will go into the challenges of this community in more detail. You'll learn how these individuals face isolation, which can lead to significant challenges in addressing essential services like health care and social support. The pathway to Canada without barriers must include targeted strategies for supporting the deaf-blind community through programs that provide specialized training, tactile communication methods, intervenor services and other personalized support services.

I'm just going to highlight a few more items that we believe are necessary to achieve a barrier-free Canada around 2040. I've submitted my notes in advance, so you'll be able to read about these items in more detail.

We are advocating and encourage expanded funding for sign language interpretation and intervenor services.

We also want to see the funding expanded for specialized training and professional development for sign language interpreters and intervenors. This is not only to allow them to enhance their skills to interpret in these specialized areas but also to allow deaf individuals who use sign language to gain meaningful employment in these areas of work; they may be unable to do so because they don't have the specialized interpreting services provided for them.

We also believe it's important to expand funding for technology and infrastructure development. This is to allow broadband Internet and other services to support video relay services and remote interpreting platforms in remote communities or in areas where Internet connectivity remains a challenge.

We also, as with interpreting services, require advanced funding for captioning and interpreting training programs, because there are very few programs in this country at this time.

We believe in the stronger enforcement of accessibility standards across private and public sectors.

We want to see inclusive design in education and employment to ensure that people who are deaf, deaf-blind and hard of hearing have equitable access to opportunities.

Finally, the Hearing Health Alliance of Canada proposed a road map. We urge the Government of Canada to develop and adopt a comprehensive national hearing health care strategy. This strategy will ensure that hearing health is prioritized across the country and addresses the gaps in service delivery, awareness and accessibility.

Finally, we ask the committee to ensure that this work is not done in silos and that you continue to use the philosophy of “nothing about us without us”. We encourage you to consider the changes needed and to recognize the importance of ongoing consultation with the communities impacted by the decisions you make. It is essential that voices of the community and people with disabilities are heard throughout this process, ensuring the needs are reflected in policy development and implementation.

Thank you for the time today and for including the perspectives of organizations like Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility in this important conversation. Together, we can work toward a Canada where no one is left behind due to communication barriers.

I thank you again and look forward to addressing any questions you may have.

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