Deaf Albertans describe a disconnect with video-calling service

A video communication tool that's supposed to help people who are deaf connect with hearing people has been a source of frustration as they try to contact financial and medical services, businesses and potential employers.

The Video Relay Service (VRS) enables people with hearing or speech disabilities who use sign language to connect with an interpreter who then places a call to a voice phone user.

The Alberta Association of the Deaf (AAD) says on some occasions the person who is being contacted assumes it's a telemarketer or a scammer and will hang up without allowing the interpreter a chance to explain that a person who is deaf is trying to contact them.

Banks and financial institutions sometimes refuse to take the call citing privacy and security reasons.

"I've had that frustration. I know many deaf people that have had that frustration," said Kyle Badree, the president of AAD.

Badree says it also happens when people are trying to contact health, medical or government services and private businesses.

"That hearing people will just hang up the phone when they hear someone say it's an interpreted call, they don't recognize that it's an interpreted call, so they hang up."

Another issue is a shortage of interpreters who facilitate the calls.

Badree says people who are deaf are sometimes placed on hold while waiting for an interpreter to become available. Badree also says data charges can mount if a deaf person is using the VRS app on their mobile device. 

Barrier to employment

As a deaf person, Tessa Rei Lerbekmo-Joyes praises VRS but wants to see more promotion or education so hearing people understand the service and why it's so important to people who are deaf.

"The problem is that there is no education, no training about VRS," she said from her home in Cremona, Alta. 

She says she's had difficulty connecting with potential employers, who refuse the calls or hang up. 

"I am a strong woman and that gets to me, I try but I get shut down."

Deaf and Hear Alberta (DHA) agrees that an education campaign would help people better understand the service and how it functions. DHA is a registered charitable organization that works to break down communication barriers for deaf and hard of hearing people in Alberta.

Cindy Pilz, who is deaf and works with DHA as a services manager, says the hang-up complaint is a "common issue." She says in some cases a deaf person can be late for a call through no fault of their own because they were put on hold awaiting an interpreter.

And if you're calling in for a job interview, your potential employer is left with an unfavourable impression.

"The hearing person or the person doing the interviewing may assume that I'm not going to call and then we don't continue with the interview at all," Pilz said through an interpreter. 

The Canadian Administrator of Video Relay Service (CAV) is a not-for-profit telecommunications services company with a mandate from the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to design, implement and oversee the delivery of VRS, which is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week service that is funded by the federal government.

CAV receives $30 million per year for its operations. One per cent of its budget is set aside for marketing, education and outreach.

CAV says it has run several campaigns to raise awareness within the hearing community. One of them was called 'don't hang up.'

A spokesperson for the company says they have worked with banks, healthcare and government to establish a personal consent form that enables a third party, the interpreter, to be part of the call.

Responding to claims that there is a shortage of interpreters, the spokesperson says the company has "consistently exceeded" answering 90 per cent of customer calls within 120 seconds with an average wait time of typically less than 30 seconds. The company says their performance "exceeds" CRTC requirements. 

The CRTC said a "comprehensive review" of VRS was launched in 2021 and is ongoing. The CRTC was asked specifically about the number of hang-up calls that users are experiencing. 

"The CRTC acknowledges that the community is concerned about this issue and that for the service to achieve its full potential it needs to be addressed," a spokesperson for the CRTC said in an email to the CBC.

The spokesperson for CAV says because the company cannot comment on the review because it is still ongoing.

Bryan Labby is an enterprise reporter with CBC Calgary. If you have a good story idea or tip, you can reach him at bryan.labby@cbc.ca or on Twitter at @CBCBryan.