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ASL Instructor Certificate Program Training
Alberta Cultural Society of the Deaf and Alberta Association of the Deaf proudly sponsor ASL Instructor Certificate Program training courses which will be held in Edmonton, Alberta in April and May 2008.

Structure of American Sign Language
This course provides a linguistic foundation in American Sign Language for individuals teaching it as a second language. Participants become acquainted with the building blocks of the language, sentence types, and norms of ASL syntax and pragmatics of using a visual-gestural language for communication. Participants also review the linguistic meaning and use of upper and lower facial markers, reciprocal signals and visual affect markers. Finally, participants consider sociolinguistic factors influencing the use of ASL. See our Flyer/Form

CRTC Finally Approves Video Relay Service
For Deaf Canadians

For four years, the Canadian Association of the Deaf and the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf have been fighting tirelessly to bring Video Relay Service (VRS) to Canada.

For the past year, we have been arguing for VRS in a public proceeding of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). This proceeding was trying to decide how the phone companies should spend millions of dollars in a funding pot known as the “deferral accounts”.

On January 17th, the CRTC finally announced its decision. You can find the full decision on their website.

Here’s what it means for us Deafies:

Bell Canada and Telus will each set up their own regional VRS. Telus will serve B.C. and Alberta. Bell will serve Ontario and Quebec.

If you don’t live in those provinces, too bad for you! CAD/CCSD argued and argued and argued with CRTC to set up a national VRS. We argued that it would be discriminatory and unfair to refuse VRS to people living outside of BC, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. But the CRTC rejected our arguments and refused to support any use of the deferral account funds for national services.

CRTC also approved of plans for IP Relay service for B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec. IP Relay (Internet Protocol Relay) is like standard old Message Relay Service, except it runs on the Internet and you can use a computer to connect to it instead of using a TTY.

IP Relay can start immediately. But neither Bell nor Telus has said when they will be ready to start offering VRS. Bell suggested they might start near the end of 2008.

We are all very happy that VRS is finally coming to Canada. But we are not very happy that it will not be a national VRS. We are angry that six provinces and three territories are not going to be getting VRS at all!

Please understand that we, the Deaf community, are not running VRS. We do not have any responsibility for VRS. We do not have the power to make Bell and Telus start their VRS services faster.

We will continue to do our best to pressure the phone companies to work with the Deaf community and to give us real jobs in helping to set-up and operate VRS. We will not be satisfied with invitations to sit on unpaid “advisory councils” that have no power to run VSR. We encourage Deaf Canadians not to accept “advisory council” positions themselves, and to demand that Bell and Telus hire Deaf Canadians for paid positions in their VRS services.

Finally, we wish to thank all of you for your support of our long, long struggle for VRS, and for your patience in waiting for so many years until the CRTC and the phone companies finally agreed to set it up. What a battle it has been, eh!

Sincerely,

Sign Relay Canada - Service de Relais Canada

Canadian Association of the Deaf
Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf