About Us

The Deaf Wireless Canada Consultative Committee (DWCC or DWC³⁾ Committee was formed in June 2015 under the leadership of Lisa Anderson, along with Jeffrey Beatty and Darryl Hackett, after they learned of Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and Hard of Hearing Canadians expressing their concerns about the current state of the wireless issues in Canada through social media. The Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD-ASC) Board approved the committee’s proposal to become an ad-hoc committee under their organization; at the July 2015 Annual General Meeting, Lisa became an elected CAD-ASC Director-at-Large with the focus on Wireless Issues. Lisa stayed on the CAD-ASC board until 2019.

DWCC would like to thank the former Board and staff of the CAD-ASC, Frank Folino (President) and Jim Roots (Executive Director) for their invaluable roles in assisting our organization with a range of support financial, and regulatory policy expertise with our proceeding work thus far. DWCC has appreciated its collaborative partnership with the CAD-ASC and looks forward to future collaborative relationships with the CAD-ASC and other interested organizations, such as the Canadian National Society of the Deaf-Blind (CNSDB).

Today, in 2022, the DWCC Consultative team is standing independently, comprised of 19 members, with varied roles, from administrative roles of the organization to Executive, and Steering teams, guided by a document called terms of reference (TOR), and a mixture of independent freelance consultants who are Deaf, Deaf-Blind or Hard of hearing.

As of December 2022, the statistics of DWCC activities include participation to date in:

• 18 CRTC regulatory proceedings, the majority of them with a telecommunications focus

in addition to participating in:

• annual meetings with Canadian Complaints for Telecom-television Service (CCTS)
• consultative meetings with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA)
• consultation meetings with external groups about the accessibility of CRTC
• varied accessibility consultative and advisory meetings with wireless service provider companies such as Telus, Rogers, Bell, Freedom Mobile and Shaw, to name a few.

While most of the work Committee members do is consultative, the reality is the organization primarily works as volunteers and does not get paid costs, often until up to one year after a policy with regulatory decisions is made by the CRTC. When the costs are received, a percentage of the funds go toward DWCC’s administrative/operating costs until the next proceeding.

What do our consultants and freelance professionals do to contribute to DWCC’s work?

• Deaf-Blind consultancy
• English-French translations
• ASL-LSQ interpretation
• Infographic design and creation
• Word Cloud creations
• Data analysts
• Research
• Document and report-writing editing and proof-reading
• Regulatory or legal advice and guidance

DWCC members have been fortunate and grateful to those who have contributed their expertise and consultative services, knowing it is an initial volunteer investment, and a bit of a wait for their costs to be approved.  For this, DWCC organization members express their appreciative gratitude to these consultants and analysts. Thank you.

Here are some of the biographies of the Committee members.

Biographies of Committee Members

	Lisa Anderson, Chair-Consultant Lisa is best known for her seven-year advocacy work with the BC Video Relay Services Committee (BCVRS.ca).   She formed this DWCC committee after learning of several Canadian Deaf community members having common concerns with their wireless service providers. Being passionate about telecommunications accessibility issues, Lisa is honoured to work with such a diverse and energetic group of Canadians on the committee to make a difference in Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of hearing Canadians’ lives with wireless accessibility.
	Darryl Hackett, Vice Chair Darryl has been passionate with all fair and equal communication access for all Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing people for many years. He has been involved with Ontario Video Relay Service Committee (OVRSC) and now is involved with the newly-formed DWCC in order to carry on his passion. Darryl graduated from Newfoundland School for the Deaf and then received a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.   As a proud Newfoundlander, Darryl loves the Newfoundland traditional food, history and culture. He is a Newfie at heart while he is living in Ottawa with his pet cat, Sage. Any Newfie jokes for him?
	Jeffrey “Jeff” Beatty, Treasurer / Technical Consultant & Illustrator Jeff joins the DWCC as a member of the CRTC Writing team with a strong focus on Policy & Technical on CRTC wireless and Text with 911 Services.  He is also involved with the Survey and Public Relations Team.  His 5-year advocacy work with VRS Grassroots across Canada is well-known.   Jeff was concerned and noticed disparity among several Deaf Canadians with their mobile wireless plans and Text with 911.  In addition to the DWCC work, he is advocating for the CRTC to establish its own Accessibility Office (AO) similar to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  Since 2010, Jeff has been a private consultant in educational technology and a strong supporter of equal access to telecommunication services for the Deaf Communi
	Michael J Stewart, Secretary/Data Analyst Bio profile coming soon.
	Eileen Edinger, West Representative Eileen joins the Deaf Wireless Canada Committee as a member of the CRTC Writing team with a strong focus on 911 services; she is also involved with the Survey Team. Her current job is Special Education Assistant. Advocacy is her passion that Eileen had been involved in some Deaf organizations for more than 10 years. The most notable Deaf organization is the Family Network of Deaf Children (FNDC) in BC. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and writing, hiking, caring for her three cats, and keeping up with her two grown daughters.
	Rachel Fillion, French Translator Hailing from Quebec, Rachel went to mainstream school and became aware about Deaf and Hard of Hearing issues later in her life. She is mainly passionate about mental health issues & access to mental health services in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She is pleased to offer her proficiency in French & English for the Translation Team, where she translated the survey and the website from English to French. She will also respond to other translation requests when necessary. Contemplative in nature, Rachel enjoys water activities, such as stand-up paddling, kitesurf, as well as long walks in forest.
	Brian Foran, East Representative Brian is known for his advocacy work in Deaf Community for over two decades. He has been involved with CAD-ASC since 1992 and was a board member of the organization for 12 years. He got involved with the committee as a member of the Survey Team and the CRTC Writing Team because he shares the same passion to fight for equal access for all Deaf and Hard of Hearing Canadians. One of his hobbies is having his first selfie taken with Theodore the Tugboat!  Brian has a loving wife of 17 years and they have three kids.
	Noella Roberts, DeafBlind Consultant Bio profile coming soon.

And the rest of the wonderful committee consultative members:

Paula Wesley – BC	Vinu Abraham Chetipurackal – BC	Jessica Sergeant – ON
		Kevin Ettinger, BC

Our Committee is actively seeking more members with writing abilities and skills who could offer their perspectives and experiences to ensure accessibility of Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of hearing Canadians with telecommunications. Contact lisa@deafwireless.ca for further information.

DWCC thanks past members for their contributions:

Amy Parsons, NS/USA
Arista Haas, AB
Betty MacDonald – NS
Jonathan Poulin-Desbiens – ON/QC
Krishna Madaparthi – ON/USA
Nicole Marsh, NF/ON
Patricia Viens – QC
Ross LaVallee – MB
Ryan Parkinson – ON/AB
Rytch Newmiller, AB