The Forum’s intervention supporting Deaf Wireless Canada Consultative Committee’s Application to Review and Vary Telecom Order 2018-66, 8662-D78-201803461

The Forum intervened in support of the Deaf Wireless Canada Consultative Committee’s (DWCC) application to review and vary Determination of costs award with respect to the participation of the Deaf Wireless Canada in the proceeding that led to Telecom Regulatory Policy 2017-182, Telecom Order CRTC 2018-66. Telecom Order 2018-66 denied half of DWCC’s application for the costs of a survey in the CRTC’s Next-Generation 911 proceeding.  The Forum believes that the CRTC’s determination of what costs DWCC should be awarded based on comparability of its costs with those of other interveners was not based in fact, as no other parties in the proceeding conducted a survey of Canadians in general, or survey Canada’s DDBHH communities in particular. While Telecom Order 2018-66 suggested that DWCC’s survey costs were high, The Forum pointed out that the costs of conducting research in DDBHH communities are necessarily and significantly different than those of surveys conducted in hearing communities.